Cargreen

WARNING: Graphic content

Three men have been convicted of the “humiliating and horrific” rape of three “terrified” teenagers during a dollar party weekend away in Newcastle, with a judge describing them as acting with a “pack mentality”.

Maurice Hawell, 30, Andrew David, 30, and Marius Hawell, 23, were sentenced at the Downing Center District Court on Friday morning after being found guilty of sexually assaulting the three women in a rented Airbnb during a weekend away in February 2022. celebrate Maurice’s upcoming wedding.

The rental house became the scene of a horrific nightmare for two 18-year-old friends and a 19-year-old girl, who were raped by the men over two nights.

The Hawell brothers and David were found guilty in July of participating in a joint criminal enterprise to sexually abuse the women after a weeks-long trial in the NSW District Court.

Judge Gina O’Rourke described their actions as “degrading and horrific” and said they treated one victim “as if she were the subject of sexual abuse”.

The court heard that female relatives and loved ones had submitted character references in support of all three perpetrators.

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 that weekend were “in stark contrast to how their mothers, wives, girlfriends and sisters have described them”.

Judge O’Rourke said there was evidence that they were all: “highly educated, intelligent, successful young men who all come from loving, Christian homes who treat their own mothers, sisters and female partners with respect and love.”

“Yet this weekend I was able to use a pack mentality to treat three young women in this cold, insensitive, demeaning and criminal manner,” she said.

“And also to participate in the breakfast every morning afterward, at which the group of men who attended this buck’s party bragged about having sex with the women who visited the apartment.”

The court was previously told that the traumatic gang rapes had a devastating impact on the teenage victims.

The 19-year-old victim explained that she was “terrified to face the world” after being sexually assaulted by Maurice and David while Marius watched.

She told the court she ‘felt vulnerable’, ‘experienced panic attacks’ and ‘couldn’t leave my house alone’ in the months that followed.

“I felt like I was losing myself deeply,” 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 a drink beforehand.

The 19-year-old texted a friend that she was being “kidnapped” and asked for “help” as she was led upstairs, the court was told.

Instead of giving her a drink, Maurice led her to a bedroom and asked her to have a threesome with him and David.

She refused, but she said this did not stop Maurice from raping her while David knelt on her shoulders and pushed his penis into her mouth.

The court was told Marius entered the room and turned on the flashlight on his phone while Maurice and David switched positions.

The 19-year-old victim said she put her pants on backwards in her haste to leave the apartment and was “sobbing.”

She told the court she blamed herself for the “traumatic” gang rape and spent countless sleepless nights thinking about what she could have done differently to prevent the rape.

One of the two 18-year-old women raped by the men the night before revealed the attack had taken a “huge emotional toll” on every aspect of her life.

“This event has made me no longer trust the people around me,” she said in a statement.

“I couldn’t trust any man… it’s unfair that I have to regain my trust in people.”

During the trial, jurors heard that Maurice tried to sexually touch one of the 18-year-olds near her crotch while she was at the Airbnb on Friday night.

“I don’t want that,” she remembered telling the groom-to-be.

The two 18-year-olds then went to a bedroom to retrieve their phones as they prepared to leave, but the lights were turned off and they were tied to beds and sexually assaulted.

One of the victims described being raped by a man she could not see, while another man knelt on her arms and put his penis in her mouth.

At the same time, the other 18-year-old said she was held down and sexually assaulted.

Although none of the teens could see their attackers, jurors determined that David, Maurice and Marius were responsible for all three gang rapes.

Maurice Hawell was sentenced to a maximum term of fourteen years, with a non-parole period of eight years and six months.

He will be eligible for release in January 2033.

Marius Hawell was given a nine-year prison sentence, with a non-parole period of five years and five months.

David was sentenced to 13 years in prison and will be eligible for parole after serving seven years and nine months in April 2032.

The men continue to maintain their innocence and have shown no remorse for their victims.

Maurice and David claim the sexual activity was consensual, while Marius claims he did not perform any sexual acts during the money weekend.

All three men have already indicated that they plan to appeal their convictions.