Newcastle bucks weekend alleged gang rape: Young woman tells jury how night at a pub ended in nightmare

EXCLUSIVE

A woman who says she was raped by men celebrating Dollar Weekend had sex with two members of the group shortly before the alleged outburst.

The woman, who was 18 when she first met members of the party at a pub in the NSW Hunter Valley, testified against her accused rapists on Friday.

Maurice Hawell, his brother Marius Hawell and their friend Andrew David have pleaded not guilty to a series of charges, including aggravated sexual assault.

Three women, Ms A, Ms B and Ms C, have told police they were sexually assaulted, but they cannot identify which men are believed to be responsible.

Miss A and Miss B say they were raped at the same time in an apartment rented for a weekend, while Miss C says she was abused the next night.

Maurice Hawell, 30, and David, 28, say the sex they had was consensual and deny having committed any acts, while 22-year-old Marius Hawell insists he did not participate in any sexual activity at all.

The three men, all from Sydney, are being tried together for their involvement in a joint criminal enterprise.

The Hawells, David and six other friends booked Airbnb accommodation in Newcastle from Friday February 25 to Sunday February 27, 2022, ahead of Maurice Hawell’s wedding.

A jury at Sydney’s Downing Center District Court was shown photographs of the apartment obtained by Daily Mail Australia.

On Friday, some of the money party walked to the nearby Cambridge Hotel, where Miss A and Miss B were having a night out with their own friends.

Miss A and Miss B had interactions with one of the group, ‘Matt’, as well as two men believed by the Crown to be the Hawell brothers.

Mrs B said on Friday she drank three cans of Smirnoff Double Black before going to the pub and bought another can shortly after arriving.

Matt asked [Miss A] to guess his culture,” said Miss B. “When Matt asked [Miss A] about his culture he said: “Answer three questions – if you get it wrong, you have to kiss me.”

The pair kissed and a man identified by the Crown as Maurice Hawell was introduced to Miss B as Joseph.

Ms. B said she was “a little hesitant” when she and Ms. A agreed to move back to the Airbnb with Matt and “Joseph.” “I didn’t know where we were going,” she told the jury.

Once inside the Parry Street apartment, Miss B said she noticed a kitchen, an open-plan lounge area and two bedrooms. “It looked beautiful,” she told the jury.

Mrs A, who, like Mrs B, gave her evidence via an audiovisual link, had a different memory of the condition of the building.

“I remember the kitchen was a mess,” she said in one of her police statements. “There were shot glasses everywhere.”

Judge Gina O’Rourke noted that such opinions were subjective. “What is messy for one person may not be messy for another,” she told the jury.

Miss B went into one bedroom with Maurice Hawell, who she knew only as ‘Joseph’, before Miss A went into another with Matt.

‘Joseph took my arm and said, ‘Come on,’ said Miss B. ‘I said, ‘I have to say goodbye to my friend first.’

Miss B and Maurice Hawell had consensual sex, with him allegedly suggesting they invite another member of the group for a threesome.

“He asked if his friend could come,” said Miss B. “I said no.” Maurice Hawell is then said to have said: ‘It’s my twin brother’.

Mrs B said she finally agreed and called Maurice Hawell. During that conversation they were still having sex and then a second man entered the room.

“He asked if he could take off his pants,” Miss B said of the newcomer. She replied, “Whatever.”

Ms B performed a sex act with the second man – who the Crown says was David – and they had intercourse, all of which was consensual.

When that meeting was over, a third man, identified by the Crown as Marius Hawell, allegedly entered the room and, according to Miss B, asked how she felt before he touched her sexually.

Miss B said she went into the other bedroom and found Miss B with Matt and the two women went to the bathroom together.

They then went back to the bedroom where Miss A had previously had sex with Matt so they could retrieve their phones and return to Cambridge.

Miss B said that when they entered the bedroom the light was on, but someone had turned it off. “I was pushed onto the bed,” she told the jury.

Ms B said she was lying on her back when two men started sexually assaulting her.

Mrs. A provided evidence that she was sexually abused at the same time, but did not know that Mrs. A was in the room with her.

‘[Miss A] asked where Matt was,” said Miss B. More than one male voice answered, “I’m Matt,” she told the jury.

At no point is Matt accused of committing any wrongdoing and has never been charged with any crime in connection with what happened in the apartment.

Ms. A has said that when she and Ms. B left the Airbnb, they returned to Cambridge with Matt, who she kissed again on the dance floor.

She had told her friends that she had sex with Matt, but did not say that she had been assaulted by anyone.

“I just kept the whole group thing to myself,” Ms A told the jury. “I was ashamed and ashamed of what had happened.”

Miss A said she exchanged phone numbers and Snapchat details with Matt and sent him naked photos of herself days later.

“I still wanted to get to know him,” she said. “He was still cool and funny.”

Maurice Hawell and David are charged with eight counts of aggravated sexual assault in company and one count of aggravated sexual touching of another person and attempted aggravated sexual assault in company.

Marius Hawell is charged with six counts of aggravated sexual assault in company and one count of aggravated sexual touching of another person and attempted aggravated sexual assault in company.

Ms B will resume her testimony when the trial continues on Monday.