A man accused of gang-raping three teenage girls inside an Airbnb during their stag party gave a “fanciful” account of the sexual encounters that was “not credible”, a court has been told.
Andrew David, 30, and brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, have pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault in company, attempted aggravated sexual assault in company and aggravated sexual contact.
The men had been celebrating Maurice’s upcoming wedding with a stag party in Newcastle one weekend in February 2022 when they allegedly sexually assaulted three women.
Prosecutors allege the trio attacked two 18-year-old women on Friday night and a 19-year-old woman the following night.
Maurice and Mr David deny that any sexual activity was non-consensual, while Marius claims he did not take part in any of the sexual incidents during the stag weekend.
The trio have faced a trial lasting several weeks in the New South Wales District Court over the alleged joint criminal enterprise.
In his closing statement on Monday, Crown prosecutor Craig Evans said the jury should ignore “fanciful” evidence presented by Maurice during the trial.
“It’s not credible. It’s not credible. It’s not coherent,” he said.
Andrew David, 30, and brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, have pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault in the company of…
Andrew David, 30, and his brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, had been celebrating Maurice’s upcoming wedding.
In his account from Saturday night, Maurice said he approached a 19-year-old woman on the street and that she agreed to have sex with him before checking into the Airbnb.
Mr Evans said the evidence was “totally inconsistent with contemporary evidence”, including CCTV footage and texts the woman had sent to a friend saying she was “in danger and needed help”.
The court was told last night that Maurice had used a false name when he invited an 18-year-old girl to the Airbnb he had rented for his stag party.
The couple had been having consensual sex before Maurice began urging the teenager to allow David to join them, Evans said. Maurice’s insistence demonstrated his “inclinations for threesomes or group sex,” according to the prosecutor.
She told the jury the 18-year-old eventually said yes and had consensual sex with Mr David but then had to push him away because he would not listen to her request to stop biting her nipple.
Mr David has not been charged with any offence over the bite, but Mr Evans said it showed his mental state before the alleged rape.
On Monday, the Crown prosecutor said in his closing arguments to the jury that the circumstances of Friday night showed the women did not consent.
Maurice Hawell, his younger brother Marius and seven other men stayed at an Airbnb and visited a nearby pub where they met and invited several women back to the three-bedroom flat, jurors previously heard.
Two of the women agreed to return to the unit, where they had consensual sex with Maurice Hawell, David and another man who has not been criminally charged, jurors heard.
The two women then talked about leaving before going to a dark bedroom to get their phones, the jury was told.
When they entered the room, they were allegedly pushed onto the bed, stripped naked and forced to have sex with at least three men.
One of the women described during her testimony that she felt a “swarm of people” around her, without being able to identify any of them.
“The way they bring them into the room, it was dark,” Evans said.
“The circumstances demonstrate that there is no consent.”
According to the testimony of one of the women, they took off her clothes while the men forced themselves on her orally and vaginally.
“(The alleged victim) doesn’t know who is attempting to have sex with her and she is not consenting,” Evans said.
‘She couldn’t see.
“If they didn’t know she didn’t consent, they were at least reckless with their consent.”
The court provided an image of the Airbnb unit in Newcastle where the sexual assaults allegedly occurred
Andrew David, 30, and his brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, were celebrating a stag party in Newcastle in February 2022 when they allegedly sexually assaulted three women.
Describing exactly who performed which sexual act was impossible because the room was dark, but prosecutors allege the three men were involved in a joint criminal agreement to rape and sexually touch the women.
A third alleged victim was brought to the apartment the following night after Maurice Hawell followed her down the street from the bar and grabbed her hand as she reached her door, Evans said.
After agreeing to go into the apartment for a drink, the woman said she was taken to a dark bedroom where she was raped by Maurice Hawell and David, who took turns exchanging sexual positions.
Halfway through, Marius Hawell entered the room and watched, Evans told the court.
Each of the men pleaded not guilty to a range of charges, including sexual intercourse without consent, sexual contact without consent and attempted sexual contact without consent.
The trial continues.
