Bucks party rapist ‘bashed’ in jail after being found guilty at trial

A man convicted of a series of rapes alongside his groom-to-be brother was assaulted while waiting to learn his fate.

A young man convicted over a series of “degrading and heinous” rapes during a bucks party in Newcastle was bashed in prison while awaiting sentence.

Marius Hawell, 23, was in November jailed for a maximum of nine years after being convicted by a jury of several counts of sexual assault alongside his brother Maurice and bucks member Andrew David.

No one was charged over the prison assault in August, and it is understood the younger Hawell did not want further action taken.

Marius Hawell leaves court during the trial in mid-2024. Picture: NewsWire/John Appleyard

But the incident came to light in a psychological report tendered on behalf of Maurice, 30, during sentence proceedings in the NSW District Court.

“I learned last week my brother was bashed and he had his nose fractured,” Maurice Hawell told a psychologist.

“The people who bashed him said I’ll be next.”

A spokesperson for the jail, which news.com.au has chosen not to identify, said Marius was “punched by another inmate in an accommodation wing” at the facility.

“The inmate was treated by on-site medical staff and did not require hospital treatment.”

Maurice Hawell was on his bucks party. Picture: NewsWire/Monique Harmer

His best mate Andrew David. Picture: NewsWire/Nikki Short

The trio of the Hawell brothers and David maintain their innocence of the crimes for which they were convicted after a lengthy trial spanning June and July 2024. They have flagged their intentions to appeal.

Three women – two aged 18 and one 19 – told the court they were raped in a dark bedroom by multiple men after going back to an Airbnb hired for Maurice Hawell’s bachelor party in February 2022.

The two 18-year-olds met Maurice and another man at a nearby nightclub, the Cambridge Hotel, on February 25 of that year.

The former Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, which is now closed down. Picture: Google Maps.

The court heard after the two women had consensual sex – one with Maurice and David and the second with the other man – they were later assaulted by a “swarm of men” in a dark bedroom.

A woman, then 19, was invited to the Parry St unit by Maurice, who was using the alias Jonathon at the time, on the following night.

She told the court he talked about having pre-drinks with her but she was led into a bedroom and raped by two men, and believed a third came into the room to watch.

On the stand, Maurice said he and David, 30, had a consensual threesome with the woman after she shook hands on having sex with him and denied his brother had entered the room as alleged by the Crown.

Maurice Hawell denied raping the women while giving evidence on the stand. Picture: NewsWire/Nikki Short

He also claimed the incident on the previous night was consensual, saying he had pitched a “foursome orgy” to the women and told them “I’m good at sex”.

“I said, ‘we can all have group sex together’,” he said, when speaking of the walk back to the Airbnb.

“And (one of the women) replied words to the effect of, ‘we can all have an orgy’.”

David’s lawyers claimed any sexual activity he was involved in over the weekend was consensual, while Marius’s lawyers claimed he did not take part in the incidents at all. The men did not give evidence at trial.

Crown prosecutor Craig Evans said the jury should reject Maurice Hawell’s “fanciful” versions of how the sexual encounters unfolded.

“The crown’s submission to you is it’s just not credible, not believable,” he told the jury.

Maurice and Loubna Hawell were married in 2022. Picture: Supplied

The jury deliberated for more than eight hours before returning guilty verdicts for each of the men, for charges including aggravated sexual assault in company and aggravated sexual touching without consent.

Judge Gina O’Rourke in sentencing the trio of men said their actions on that weekend flew in the face of how they were described by family members and church leaders in southwest Sydney.

“They are three highly educated, intelligent, successful, professional young men who come from loving Christian families, who treat their own sisters, mothers and female partners with respect and love,” she said.

“And yet on this weekend, they were capable in a pack mentality of treating three young women in this cold, callous, degrading and criminal way.”

Andrew David, 30, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Court sketch: NewsWire/Rocco Fazzari

Although the incidents occurred in the dark and no acts be directly attributed to each man, Judge O’Rourke said “each is responsible and liable for the acts of the other”.

A lawyer by trade, Maurice told the psychologist he was in disbelief at how his life had been turned “upside down” by the charges laid May 2022 – a few weeks after his wedding in.

“I constantly live in fear. I avoid people and confrontation, but it’s hard to avoid those things in a place like this,” he said, speaking on life in jail. He also said his reputation was “stained” by the case.

His wife, Loubna Hawell, penned a letter to the court saying she had forgiven his “infidelity” and believed he was an innocent man. She asked he not be jailed so he could be with his family.

“I never, not for a single moment, believed he could be capable of the monstrous acts described in (police documents),” she said.

“Maurice is the epitome of respect, humility, and generosity. He treats everyone with the highest dignity and respect.”

Marius Hawell, 23, was found guilty of the rapes during his older brother's bucks weekend. Court sketch: NewsWire/Rocco Fazzari

Maurice Hawell was found guilty of 10 charges and sentenced to 14 years in prison with a non-parole period of eight-and-a-half years.

His best friend, Andrew David was found guilty of nine charges before being sentenced to 13 years with a seven year and nine month non-parole period.

Younger brother Marius, who was found guilty of seven charges, was sentenced to nine years with a non-parole period of five years and five months.

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