A groom on a stag do was taunted by his friends for having sex with “the least attractive” of two teenage girls who say they were gang raped by members of the group, a court has heard.
Maurice Howell was 27, his brother 20 and David 28 when they travelled from Sydney to Newcastle in February 2022 with six other men ahead of the elder Hawell’s wedding.
Three women, Miss A, Miss B and Miss C, told the jury they were sexually assaulted at an Airbnb rented by the group, but could not identify which men were allegedly responsible.
Miss A and Miss B, both 18 at the time, said they were raped together in the flat on Friday night, while Miss C, 19, said she was abused the following night.
Maurice Hawell and David claim that any sexual relations they had with the women were consensual and deny performing certain acts, while Marius Hawell insists that he did not engage in any sexual activity at all.
The three men are facing trial together at Downing Centre District Court for participating in a joint criminal enterprise.
The court heard that her friend ‘Matt’ had consensual sex with Miss A on Friday in one room, while Miss B had consensual sex with Maurice Hawell and David in another.
Matt is not accused of committing any crime at any time.
A groom on a stag do was taunted by his friends for having sex with the “least attractive” of two teenage girls who say they were gang raped by members of the group, a court has heard. Andrew David (above) is one of three members of the group charged with sexual assault
He told the court that while he was having sex with Miss A, Maurice Hawell came into the room and said: “Hey guys, do you want to have a threesome? (Miss B) is also interested.”
Matt said he listened to Miss A when she told him, “It’s up to you,” and she told him the same thing.
He denied that Maurice Hawell had reached down to touch Miss A’s upper thigh before she was asked to leave the bedroom.
Matt also denied telling Maurice Hawell during a conversation outside the bedroom door: “(Miss A) is happy to have a foursome with us if (Miss B) joins us as well.”
Miss A and Miss B have stated that they were subsequently raped by several men in the room where Miss A and Matt had consensual sex.
Matt told the jury on Tuesday that he had seen Miss A, Miss B, Maurice Hawell and David in the bedroom, “kissing and having sex” with the light on.
He said he had gone into the bedroom because he heard Miss A shout: “Where’s Matt?” He said: “Hi, I’m here, are you OK?” and she replied: “I’m fine.”
Three women, Miss A, Miss B and Miss C, have told police they were sexually assaulted at an Airbnb rented by the group, but they cannot identify the men who were allegedly responsible. Maurice Hawell is pictured
Miss A has testified that she repeatedly shouted “Where’s Matt?” and several male voices responded “I’m Matt.”
During questioning, Matt said he believed Miss A had enjoyed having group sex with her friends. “It seemed like it,” he said. “She looked like she was really enjoying it.”
Asked if she held the same opinion of Miss B, she said: “Yes, she did too, but I was there very briefly.”
Matt said it was possible he heard Miss B ask, “Is someone going to fuck me?”
Mate He told the court that once the group sex was over, he walked with Miss A and Miss B to the nearby Cambridge Hotel, where they had all met up earlier that evening.
“We were talking, we were kissing, we were dancing a little bit,” he said of his interactions with Miss A.
Matt said that some time after he left the pub for the night, he received a call from Miss A.
“She called me after two o’clock, I don’t remember the time, from her friend’s phone,” he told the court.
She said, “Can we go back to the room and stay there?” and I said, “Yes, if you want.”
Maurice Hawell and Andrew David claim that any sexual relations they had with the women were consensual and deny engaging in certain acts, while Marius Hawell (above) insists he did not engage in any sexual activity at all.
Matt said the women decided they would not return to the apartment after he told them he could not take them home the next morning.
Miss A had sent her a message around 4am, to which she replied a few hours later when she woke up. “Did you get home okay?” she wrote.
Matt said that when the singles group went to breakfast that day, some of them laughed at Maurice Hawell “because he got together with the least attractive girl.”
Maurice Hawell and David are charged with eight counts of aggravated sexual assault in company and one count of aggravated sexual contact with another person and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault in company.
Marius Hawell is charged with six counts of aggravated sexual assault in company and one count of aggravated sexual touching of another person and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault in company.
The trial, before Judge Gina O’Rourke, continues.
