Teen texted for ‘help’ and claimed she’d been kidnapped minutes before she was allegedly gang raped at a bucks party, court hears

A 19-year-old woman texted her friend asking for help, saying she had been abducted minutes before she was allegedly raped at a stag party, a court has heard.

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

The men were celebrating Maurice’s upcoming wedding with a stag party in Newcastle over the weekend of February 2022, when they allegedly sexually assaulted three women.

Prosecutors say the trio attacked two 18-year-old women on Friday night and a 19-year-old woman the following night.

Maurice and Mr David deny that there were any non-consensual sexual acts, while Marius claims he was not involved in the sexual incidents during the stag party weekend.

The trio had been on trial in the New South Wales District Court for weeks over the alleged joint criminal enterprise.

In his closing statement on Monday, prosecutor Craig Evans said the jury should disregard the “fantastic” evidence Maurice presented during the trial.

“It’s not credible. It’s not credible. It’s not consistent,” he said.

In his account of Saturday night, Maurice said he approached a 19-year-old woman on the street and that she agreed to have sex with him before they entered the Airbnb.

Mr Evans said the evidence was “completely inconsistent with the evidence at the time”, including CCTV audio and text messages the woman had sent to a friend saying she was “in danger and needed help”.

The court heard that messages appeared saying ‘help’ and ‘I’ve been kidnapped’. Evans said this was dramatic, but also showed she felt pressured to comply with Maurice’s repeated requests.

The court heard the 19-year-old initially said no, but gave in after Maurice harassed her and asked her to go for a drink beforehand at his rented apartment.

She was allegedly led into a bedroom and pushed onto a bed in a dark room as other men entered. She told the court this left her feeling ‘scared and anxious’.

When Maurice asked her if she wanted to have a threesome with Mr. David, the girl said no, according to the court.

Despite her refusal, the men reportedly pinned her to the bed and forced her to perform oral and penetrative sex.

Their actions showed that they intended to have group sex, “upon request and if there is no agreement, a statement to continue anyway,” the prosecutor told the court.

“They both know what the other is doing and they both continue (their sexual acts) knowing she doesn’t consent,” he said.

Marius then allegedly entered the room and used the flashlight on his phone to create light.

Mr Evans said he knew from his actions that the sex was not consensual, which was clear from the woman’s trapped position, but that he encouraged it anyway.

The night before, the court had heard that Maurice had used a false name when he invited an 18-year-old woman to Airbnb.

The couple had consensual sex before Maurice began pestering the teenager to let Mr David go, Mr Evans said.

According to the prosecutor, Maurice’s insistence showed “his preference for threesomes or group sex.”

He told the jury that the 18-year-old girl eventually said yes and performed consensual sexual acts on Mr David, but that she then had to push him away because he would not listen to her requests to stop biting her nipple.

Mr David has not been charged with any offence in relation to the alleged bite, but Mr Evans said it was a reflection of his state of mind before the alleged rape.

After this, the woman left the room and spoke to her 18-year-old friend, who had consensual sex with another attendee at the bachelorette party.

The women went into a bedroom to get their mobile phones so they could leave, but the court heard they were pushed onto beds and raped by the three men.

Both teenagers told the court they were held in the dark room and were unable to move, let alone give consent.

“(The Hawell brothers and Mr David) had an agreement to sexually assault or grope (the women) knowing they did not consent and acting recklessly in disregard of their consent,” Mr Evans said.

‘That criminal enterprise was born at the moment they (the women) seized in the dark.’

One of the women described to the court that there was a “swarm of people” around her, but she could not say who was involved because it was dark.

“The circumstances prove there was no consent,” Evans said.

He will continue his closing statements on Tuesday, before the defence lawyers for the Hawell brothers and Mr David take the stand.