The wife of a gang rapist who attacked three teenagers at a Bucks party has said she forgives her husband after dismissing his vile sex crimes as “infidelity”.
Maurice Hawell, 30, was sentenced last week to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of raping three women during his own party in February 2022.
Hawell’s best friend Andrew David, 30, was sentenced to 13 years and his brother Marius Hawell, 23, to nine years for sexual assaults which the judge called “degrading and atrocious”.
But Maurice Hawell’s wife, Loubna, 29, had asked the judge for leniency in one of the letters of support sent to the court before Friday’s sentencing.
Mrs Hawell begged her rapist boyfriend not to be separated from their young son and refused to even admit that he had raped his three victims, calling it simply “infidelity”.
“The discovery of Maurice’s infidelity was deeply painful for me and went against the core values of our relationship,” she wrote. news.com.au reported.
“Despite the infidelity, I decided to forgive Maurice for this mistake, recognizing that it was a breach of our relationship but not a reflection of his entire character.”
Court documents revealed that the couple married in April 2022. Hawell was charged in May of that year and faced trial in June 2024.
Maurice Hawell (left) gang-raped three women. He appears in the photo with his wife Loubna.
In her letter, Hawell said the moment police arrived at her home with a search warrant detailing allegations against her husband a few weeks after the wedding was “like being struck by lightning.”
She wrote that she remained in “total shock” about the accusations made against her husband, a lawyer, and said she believes his story of innocence.
“And although it broke my heart to discover Maurice’s infidelity, I never, for a single moment, believed that he would be capable of committing the monstrous acts described in those documents,” she said.
‘Maurice is the personification of respect, humility and generosity. Treat everyone with the utmost dignity and respect.’
Hawell, of Bossley Park, pleaded not guilty to all charges at trial and argued that any sexual activity he engaged in during the Bucks’ trip to Newcastle was consensual.
Documents filed on his behalf before the sentence was approved state that he maintains his innocence and would appeal the verdicts.
His wife asked Judge Gina O’Rourke for leniency in her letter to the court, saying “the thought of living without Maurice is a heartbreaking agony that I can barely bear.”
“We hope that Your Honor can take into account the serious consequences that Maurice’s prolonged incarceration will have on (our family),” he wrote.
Hawell’s brother, Marius Hawell, was jailed for his role in the sexual attacks.
Three women testified at trial that they were invited back to an Airbnb where the Hawell brothers, David and others were staying before being sexually assaulted by several men in a dark room.
The incidents took place over two nights that Sydney’s friends stayed in Newcastle, and a jury found that two women were raped on the first night and another on the second.
Judge O’Rourke charged that the Hawells’ and David’s action was in “stark contrast to how their mothers, wives, girlfriends and sisters have described them.”
“They are three young, intelligent, successful and highly educated professionals who come from loving Christian families, who treat their own sisters, mothers and colleagues with respect and love,” he said.
“And yet, this weekend, they were able, with a pack mentality, to treat three young women in this cold, callous, degrading and criminal manner.”
Judge O’Rourke said one of the women, all of whom were teenagers at the time, was treated as “an object… not as a young woman who deserved to be treated with dignity.”
The Hawells and David maintain their innocence and intend to appeal.
Loubna and Maurice Hawell outside a Sydney court earlier this year.
Majdolin Hawell, the mother of Maurice and Marius, wrote in her letter to the court that she felt obliged to “tell the truth” about her children: “extremely responsible young people, known for their good character and honest behavior.”
“While I respect the jury’s verdict, the process and the court’s time, it is extremely difficult to reconcile the charges with the character of Maurice and Marius,” he wrote.
“They have always had the utmost respect for women, whether it be their past or current relationships, their friends, their colleagues or even me and their sisters.”
Judge O’Brien imposed minimum sentences of eight and a half years on Maurice and five years and five months on Marius, meaning they will be eligible for parole in January 2033 and December 2029 respectively.