‘Pack mentality’: Bucks game rapists jailed

WARNING: Graphic content

Three men have been jailed for the “degrading and appalling” rape of three “terrified” teenagers during a weekend of partying in Newcastle, with a judge describing them as having acted with a “pack mentality”.

Maurice Hawell, 30, Andrew David, 30, and Marius Hawell, 23, were sentenced Friday morning in Downing Center District Court after being found guilty of sexually assaulting the three women at an Airbnb Rented 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 friends and a 19-year-old girl who were gang-raped by men over two nights.

In July, brothers Hawell and David were found guilty of participating in a joint criminal enterprise to sexually assault the women after a weeks-long trial in the New South Wales District Court.

Judge Gina O’Rourke described their actions as “degrading and appalling” and said they treated a victim “as if she were an object to be sexually abused.”

The court heard that family and loved ones had submitted character references in support of the three offenders.

Maurice Hawell’s wife said that despite his infidelity that weekend, she did not believe he was capable of committing the “monstrous” rapes of three women.

David’s fiancée and sister wrote letters talking about 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 had described them.”

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

“Yet this weekend, I am able, with a pack mentality, to treat three young women in this cold, callous, degrading and criminal manner,” he said.

“And also participating in breakfast each of the following mornings in which the group of men who attended this male’s party boasted about having sex with the women who attended the apartment.”

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

The 19-year-old victim explained that she had been “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 following months.

“I felt like I had lost myself deeply,” the teenager explained in an emotional statement.

The jury was told Maurice used a false name when he lured the woman back to the Airbnb with the promise of a drink beforehand.

The 19-year-old sent a text message to a friend telling her she was being “kidnapped” and asked for “help” as she was led upstairs, the court was told.

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

She refused, but said that didn’t stop Maurice from raping her while David knelt on her shoulders and put his penis in her mouth.

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

The 19-year-old victim said he turned his pants inside out in his rush 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 it.

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

“This event has made me stop trusting the people around me,” he 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 attempted to sexually touch one of the 18-year-old girls near her groin while she was at Airbnb on Friday night.

“I don’t want that,” she recalled telling the future groom.

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

One of the victims described being raped by a man who 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 being held down and sexually assaulted.

Although none of the teenagers were able to see their attackers, jurors determined that David, Maurice and Marius were responsible for the three gang rapes.

Maurice Hawell was sentenced to a maximum sentence of 14 years, with a non-parole period of eight years and six months.

He will be eligible for release in January 2033.

Marius Hawell received a nine-year 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 argues that he did not engage in any sexual acts over the weekend.

The three men have already indicated that they intend to appeal their convictions.