Three men accused of gang-raping three teenage girls during a stag weekend will await their fate on the charges after the jury retired to consider its verdicts.
Andrew David, 30, and brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, were tried after pleading not guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault in company, attempted aggravated sexual assault in company and aggravated sexual contact.
The trio had rented an Airbnb in Newcastle to celebrate groom-to-be Maurice’s stag do in February 2022 when they allegedly gang-raped three teenage girls in darkened rooms.
Prosecutors say the three men sexually assaulted two 18-year-old women on Friday night after pushing them onto beds in a dark room inside the rented Airbnb.
One of the teens told the court that Maurice had first entered a room where she was having consensual sex with another bachelor party attendee and tried to sexually touch her without her consent.
Not long after, the two 18-year-olds told the court they went into a bedroom to retrieve their phones as they prepared to leave, but were pushed back onto the beds and assaulted.
One of the teens said she was forced to have penetrative sex with a man she could not see while another man knelt on her arms and put his penis in her mouth.
The other teenager said she was pinned down on the bed next to her friend and stripped naked while a man tried to put his penis in her mouth while she was raped anally and penetratively.
Maurice Hawell (pictured) has denied gang-raping three teenage girls during his stag night in Newcastle in 2022.
Marius Hawell (pictured) has denied being involved in sexual activity that weekend.
Both teenagers testified that they could not identify their alleged attackers because the room was too dark.
Crown prosecutor Craig Evans alleges that Maurice, Mr David and Marius took part in the alleged gang rapes and that they knew the women did not consent or were reckless about their consent.
He claims the three men were also involved in the sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman the following night.
The court heard Maurice had approached the teenager on the street and persuaded her to return to the rented Airbnb for drinks before leaving, but instead led her to a bedroom.
The teenager said she was pushed onto a bed and they kissed before Mr David entered the room and Maurice asked her if she wanted to have a threesome.
The 19-year-old said she rejected the suggestion but Mr David pinned her to the bed by kneeling on her shoulders and forced his penis into her mouth while Maurice raped her.
She told the court she had tried to keep her legs closed but the man had forced them open.
The teenager said a third man, who the Crown says is Marius, entered the room while the gang rape was taking place and used his flashlight to illuminate the sexual activity.
Andrew David (pictured) has also denied charges of gang-raping three women.
Maurice and Mr David maintain that all sexual activity was consensual, while Marius claims he did not participate in any of the sexual incidents during the stag weekend.
All of their lawyers questioned the credibility of the alleged victims and argued that their clients did not know that the women had not given consent.
The three men faced a trial lasting several weeks in the New South Wales District Court over allegations they were involved in a joint criminal enterprise that did not respect the women’s consent.
On Thursday, Judge Gina O’Rourke reminded jurors that they must evaluate the evidence against each defendant separately.
“It’s basically three processes in one,” he explained.
He also reminded the jury that all three were presumed innocent and urged them to “keep an open mind” as they deliberate.
After a lengthy summing up by the judge, the jury retired to discuss their verdicts on Thursday afternoon.
