‘Degrading and heinous’: Bucks party learn fates over horrific gang rapes
Three men have been jailed over the “heinous” gang rape of three teenagers on a bucks party weekend, with a judge lashing their “pack mentality”. WARNING: graphic.
WARNING: Graphic content
Three men have been jailed for the “degrading and heinous” rape of three “terrified” teenagers during a bucks party weekend in Newcastle, with a judge describing them as having acted with a “pack mentality”.
Maurice Hawell, 30, Andrew David, 30, and Marius Hawell, 23, were on Friday morning sentenced inside the Downing Centre District Court after they were found guilty of sexually assaulting the three women at a rented Airbnb during a buck’s weekend in February 2022 to celebrate Maurice’s upcoming wedding.
The rental home became the setting of a horrific nightmare for two 18-year-old friends and a 19-year-old girl who were gang raped by the men over two nights.
The Hawell brothers and David were in July found guilty of engaging in a joint criminal enterprise to sexually assault the women after a weeks-long trial in the NSW District Court.
Judge Gina O’Rourke described their actions as “degrading and heinous” and said they treated one victim “as if she was an object to be sexually abused”.
The court heard that female family members and loved ones had tendered character references in support of all three of the offenders.
Maurice Hawell’s wife said that despite his infidelity that weekend, she did not think he was capable of the “monstrous” rapes of three women.
David’s fiancée and sister wrote letters speaking of his “deep respect for women” and “always treating women with dignity”, the court was told.
And Judge O’Rourke said their actions on that weekend were in “stark contrast to how their mothers, wife, girlfriends and sisters have described them”.
Judge O’Rourke said there was evidence they were all: “highly educated, intelligent, successful young men who all come from loving, Christian families who treat their own mothers, sisters, female partners with respect and love.”
“Yet on this weekend, capable in a pack mentality of treating three young women in this cold, callous, degrading and criminal way,” she said.
“And of also participating in breakfast on each of the mornings after in which the group of men attending this buck’s party boasted about having sex with the women who attended the apartment.”
The court was previously told the traumatic gang rapes had a ruinous impact on the teen victims.
The 19-year-old victim explained she had been “terrified to face the world” after being sexually assaulted by Maurice and David while Marius watched.
She told the court she was “left feeling vulnerable”, “experienced panic attacks” and was “unable to leave my home alone” in the months that followed.
“I felt I deeply lost myself,” the teen explained in an emotional statement.
The jury was told Maurice used a fake name when he lured the woman back to the Airbnb with the promise of pre-drinks.
The 19-year-old texted a friend that she was being “kidnapped” and asked for “help” as she was being ushered upstairs, the court was told.
Instead of giving her a drink, Maurice led her into a bedroom and asked her to have a threesome with him and David.
She refused, but she said it didn’t stop Maurice from raping her while David knelt on her shoulders and forced his penis into her mouth.
The court was told Marius entered the room and turned on his phone’s flashlight as Maurice and David swapped positions.
The 19-year-old victim said she put her pants on backwards in her haste to leave the apartment afterwards, and she was “sobbing”.
She told the court that she blamed herself for the “traumatic” gang rape and spent countless sleepless nights thinking about what she could have done differently to prevent it.
One of the two 18-year-old women who was gang raped by the men on the previous night revealed the attack had taken a “massive emotional toll” on every aspect of her life.
“This event has made me stop trusting the people around me,” she said in a statement.
“I was unable to trust any man … it’s unfair I have to regain my trust in people.”
During the trial, the jurors heard Maurice tried to sexually touch one of the 18-year-olds near her groin when she was at the Airbnb on the Friday night.
“I don’t, like, want that,” she recalled telling the groom-to-be.
The two 18-year-olds then went into a bedroom to retrieve their phones as they prepared to leave, but the light was switched off and they were pinned to beds and sexually assaulted.
One of the victims described being raped by a man she couldn’t see while another man knelt on her arms and thrust his penis into her mouth.
At the same time, the other 18-year-old said she was being held down and sexually assaulted.
Although none of the teens could see their assailants, the jurors determined David, Maurice, and Marius were responsible for all three gang rapes.
Maurice Hawell was sentenced to a maximum term of 14 years, with an eight-year and six-month non-parole period.
He will be eligible for release in January, 2033.
Marius Hawell was given a nine-year sentence, with a non-parole period of five years and five months.
David was sentenced to 13 years in jail, and will be eligible for release on parole after serving seven years and nine months in April 2032.
The men continue to maintain their innocence and have not shown any remorse for their victims.
Maurice and David claim the sexual activity was consensual, while Marius argues he didn’t engage in any sex acts during the bucks weekend.
All three men have already indicated they intend to appeal their convictions.
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