‘Never’: lawyer’s bold court claim about alleged bucks party gang rapist

A lawyer for one of three men accused of gang raping three teens during a bucks party weekend has made a strong claim to a jury.

A lawyer for one of three men accused of gang raping three teens during a bucks weekend argued a jury “can never” be satisfied his client was a rapist on the “demonstrably wrong” evidence before the court.

Andrew David, 30, and brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, have pleaded not guilty to counts of aggravated sexual assault in company, attempting to commit aggravated sexual assault in company and aggravated sexual touching.

The trio had been celebrating Maurice’s upcoming wedding with a bucks party in Newcastle on a weekend in February 2022 when they allegedly gang raped three woman.

Prosecutors claim the three men sexually assaulted two 18-year-old women on the Friday night before attacking a 19-year-old woman on the following night.

Maurice Hawell has denied gang raping three women during his bucks party weekend in Newcastle. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

He works as a lawyer. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

Maurice and Mr David maintain that all sexual activity was consensual, while Marius claims he did not take part in any of the sexual incidents during the bucks weekend.

The three men have faced a weeks-long trial in the NSW District Court over the allegations they were involved in a joint criminal enterprise that was reckless to the women’s consent.

In his closing submissions on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Craig Evans claimed both Maurice and Mr David had continually sought opportunities to have group sex throughout the weekend, either by consent or without it.

As for Marius, Mr Evans said he had opportunistically sought sexual encounters with others throughout the weekend.

He asked the jury to consider “the haste” with which Marius left the pub on Friday night after two teens were brought back to the group’s Airbnb, and “the timing”.

Mr Evans said Marius had then entered the room where the two 18-year-old women were allegedly being gang raped with the “state of mind to become involved in the sexual activity”.

The next night, it’s alleged Marius used a flashlight to watch as a 19-year-old woman was pinned to a bed and allegedly sexually assaulted by his elder brother and Mr David.

The court was told the woman put her pants on backwards in her haste to leave the apartment after the alleged assaults, and she was “sobbing”.

Marius Hawell has denied being involved in any sexual activity over the weekend in question. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

In his address to the jurors, Marius’ lawyer Scott Corrish asserted they “can never be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s a rapist”.

“No person has actually pointed the finger and said he did any criminal sexual act or even said that he was seen with his shoes and socks off,” he said.

“Even though no one says Marius Hawell put his penis in my vagina or his penis in my mouth, the crown says Marius is a rapist.”

Mr Corrish argued the jury could also not be satisfied that Marius had been part of an agreement with his elder brother and Mr David to engage in sexual assaults.

He said the case against his client hinged in part on the “demonstrably wrong” evidence of a woman who had been in the apartment on the Saturday night.

The woman had given evidence about who entered the bedroom where a 19-year-old was allegedly being gang raped, but Mr Corrish pointed out her back had been to the room.

He also noted the woman’s account of which bucks party attendees had accompanied her out of the Airbnb had been contradicted by CCTV footage.

“You’re being asked to find Marius guilty on that evidence,” his lawyer said.

“Evidence that is not just suspicious but demonstrably incorrect.”

The crown argued Marius was opportunistic. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

But his lawyer criticised the case against him. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

He similarly cast doubt on the prosecution’s argument that sperm on a T-shirt linked Marius to the alleged gang rapes on the Friday night.

Mr Corrish said Marius was seen fully clothed after the alleged incident and he would have needed the outfit-changing speed of Taylor Swift on her Eras tour to have gotten his “clothes all the way off and all the way back on in just seconds.”

Mr David’s lawyer Sharyn Hall SC acknowledged the jurors might take a “dim view” of the events at the bucks party but reminded them that criminal trial “is not a moral judgement”.

She noted one of the 18-year-old women testified that Mr David had asked for permission after she allowed him to join her and Maurice in a consensual sexual encounter.

The requests indicated “their state of mind that they need to ask first, that they need to seek permission before they do anything”, Ms Hall stated.

She said the teen “did not say no” when she was allegedly pushed onto a bed in a second bedroom and allegedly gang raped in the dark.

“(The woman) thought she had to pretend to enjoy herself. And that’s exactly what she did,” Ms Hall said.

“She acted in such a way that she was consenting.”

Andrew David has also pleaded not guilty to the alleged gang rapes.. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

He has attempted to avoid being photographed while leaving court. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

Similarly, Ms Hall said the 19-year-old who was allegedly gang raped the following night “felt like she had to go along with what was happening”.

Instead of resisting the men as they swapped positions, she argued the woman had adjusted herself to be more comfortable.

“Clearly from the evidence, whether she wanted to be involved or not, she gave the impression that she did want to be involved, that she was enjoying what was going on,” she stated.

Mr David’s lawyer argued her client did not know the teens weren’t consenting because they “acted in a way that Mr David understood they were consenting.”

She suggested the jury “would be concerned” about the extent to which they could rely on the women’s accounts of the alleged gang rapes.

Ms Hall will continue her closing submissions on Wednesday before Marius’ lawyer Richard Pontello SC addresses the jury.

Originally published as ‘Never’: lawyer’s bold court claim about alleged bucks party gang rapist