One of three teenagers gang-raped by three men celebrating a bachelor party has said she was “terrified of facing the world” after the assault.
Maurice Hawell, 30, Andrew David, 30, and Marius Hawell, 23, rented an Airbnb on Parry Street in Newcastle, north of Sydney, for a weekend in February 2022 to celebrate Maurice’s upcoming wedding.
The rental house became the scene of a horrible nightmare for two 18-year-old women and a 19-year-old woman. Over the course of two nights, they were raped by the trio.
David and Marius appeared in the NSW District Court on Tuesday for a sentencing hearing before being sentenced for sexually abusing the three teenagers. Maurice will face a similar hearing on Wednesday.
The trio were found guilty of participating in a joint criminal enterprise to sexually abuse the women after a weeks-long trial at the New South Wales District Court earlier this year.
The 19-year-old victim told the court she was “terrified of facing the world” after she was sexually abused by Maurice and David in a dark room while Marius watched.
She told the court she felt “vulnerable”, “had panic attacks” and in the months that followed “couldn’t leave her house alone”.
“I was constantly surrounded by friends and wanted to be left alone. I felt like I was losing myself,” the victim said.
Maurice Hawell, 30, (pictured) Andrew David, 30, and Marius Hawell, 23, rented an Airbnb on Parry Street in Newcastle, north of Sydney, for a weekend in February 2022 to celebrate Maurice’s upcoming wedding
Maurice Hawell (pictured right) was found guilty of sexually abusing three women
“I started blaming myself for letting it happen.”
The woman said she had suffered countless sleepless nights thinking about what she could have done differently to prevent the traumatic gang rape.
During the trial, she testified that Maurice approached her on the street, using a false name, and tried to persuade her to come to Airbnb for a drink.
Instead of giving her a drink, Maurice pushed her onto a bed and asked her to have a threesome with him and David.
Despite her refusal, the 19-year-old testified that David knelt on her shoulders and pushed his penis into her mouth while Maurice raped her.
The court was told that in her haste to leave the apartment the woman had put her trousers on backwards and that she was ‘crying’.
One of the 18-year-old victims said Friday night’s gang rape had taken a “huge emotional toll” on all aspects of her life.
Marius Hawell, 23, (pictured) has also been convicted of sexually abusing the women at the hen party
She and a friend testified that they were tied to beds and beaten when they went into a bedroom to get their phones and leave the Airbnb.
“This event has made me not trust the people around me anymore,” she said.
‘I couldn’t trust any man around me.’
The 18-year-old said she suffered from constant flashbacks and feelings of guilt over the traumatic incident, which affected her view of the world.
During the trial, she told the court she was raped by a man she could not see, while another man knelt on her arms and pushed his penis into her mouth.
At the same time, the other 18-year-old said she was held down on a bed next to her and stripped naked by a “swarm” of men before being sexually assaulted.
Although the teenagers could not see their attackers, jurors found that David, Maurice and Marius were responsible for the gang rapes.
All three men continue to maintain their innocence. Maurice and David claim the sexual acts were consensual, while Marius claims he did not engage in sexual acts during the stag weekend.
They have been in custody for two months since the jury returned their guilty verdict.
Andrew David (pictured) and Marius appeared in the New South Wales District Court on Tuesday for questioning before being sentenced for sexually abusing the three teenagers.