‘Terrified’ victims decry bucks party rapists

WARNING: Graphic details

One of three teenagers who was gang raped by a trio of men celebrating a bucks party has revealed she was “terrified to face the world” after the “traumatic” assault.

Maurice Hawell, 30, Andrew David, 30, and Marius Hawell, 23, rented an Airbnb on Parry St for a 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 women and a 19-year-old woman who were gang raped by the trio over two nights.

David and Marius faced the NSW District Court on Tuesday as they prepare to be sentenced for the sexual assaults next month. Maurice will front court on Wednesday.

In July, the trio were found guilty of engaging in a joint criminal enterprise to sexually assault the women after a weeks-long trial in the NSW District Court earlier this year.

The 19-year-old victim told the court that she was “terrified to face the world” after she was sexually assaulted by Maurice and David in a dark room while Marius watched.

She told the court that she was “left feeling vulnerable”, “experienced panic attacks” and was “unable to leave my home alone” in the months that followed.

“From being constantly surrounded by friends to wanting to be left alone, I felt I deeply lost myself,” the victim explained.

“I began to blame myself for allowing it to happen.”

The teen said she had countless sleepless nights thinking about what she could have done differently to prevent the “traumatic” gang rape.

During the trial, she testified she had been approached on the street by Maurice, who used a fake name as he persuaded her to come up to the Airbnb for pre-drinks.

Instead of giving her a drink, she said Maurice pushed her onto a bed and asked her to have a threesome with him and David.

Despite her refusal, the 19-year-old recalled David kneeling on her shoulders and forcing his penis into her mouth while Maurice raped her.

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

“I felt life was so unfair and cruel,” she said about the aftermath of the sexual assault.

One of the two 18-year-old women who was gang raped by the men on the previous night told the court the attack had taken a “massive emotional toll” on every aspect of her life.

The court was told the teens had gone into a bedroom to retrieve their phones in order to leave the Airbnb when they were pinned down to beds and violated.

“This event has made me stop trusting the people around me,” the then 18-year-old said in an emotional statement.

“I was unable to trust any man … it’s unfair I have to regain my trust in people.”

The 18-year-old said she had constant flashbacks and felt guilt about the traumatic incident, which made her “think very differently about … what society has come to”.

During the trial, she told the court she was 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 recalled being held down on a neighbouring bed and stripped naked by a “swarm” of men before being sexually assaulted.

Although none of the teens could see their assailants, the jury found David, Maurice, and Marius were responsible for the gang rapes.

All three men continue to maintain their innocence, with Maurice and David claiming the sexual activity was consensual, while Marius argued he hadn’t engaged in any sex acts during the bucks weekend.

Marius’ barrister Scott Corish said the guilty verdicts were “no more than” a finding that his client had been a party to the sexual assaults when he was in the bedrooms.

He maintained Marius had not engaged in any penetrative sexual acts with the teenage victims but had instead adopted a “voyeuristic” approach of “observation”.

The court was told Marius had used his phone to illuminate the bedroom where David and Maurice were raping the 19-year-old on the Saturday night.

Mr Corish argued that his client had played a lesser role in the gang rapes and asked the court to take into account his youth and “immaturity”.

Crown prosecutor Craig Evans said the guilty verdicts showed the jury were satisfied that “each of the three must have been involved in some form” in the sexual assaults.

David’s barrister Sharyn Hall SC told the court that the sexual assaults on the Friday night were “entirely opportunistic”.

She said her client “continues to deny any responsibility” for the three gang rapes but said he was “not simply focused on himself”.

“His expression of remorse and contrition is limited to the impacts of what has happened … on his family and those closest to him,” Ms Hall said.

Maurice will face a similar sentencing hearing on Wednesday before all three men are sentenced next month.

The trio have indicated they will appeal their convictions.

• Victims of Crime Helpline: 1800 819 817

• 1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732

• Men's Referral Service: 1300 766 491

• Lifeline (24-hour): 131 114