Newcastle Airbnb bucks night rape trial: Court hears of groom's 'fanciful' tale after he was accused of gang rape

A man accused of gang raping three teens inside an Airbnb at his bucks party gave a 'fanciful' account of the sexual encounters that was 'not believable', a court has been told.

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

The men had been celebrating Maurice's upcoming wedding with a bucks party in Newcastle on a weekend in February 2022 when they allegedly sexually assaulted three women.

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

Maurice and Mr David deny any sexual activity was non-consensual, while Marius claims he did not take part in any of the sexual incidents during the bucks weekend.

The trio have faced a weeks-long trial in the NSW District Court over the alleged joint criminal enterprise.

In his closing statement on Monday, Crown prosecutor Craig Evans said the jury should disregard the 'fanciful' evidence given by Maurice during the trial.

'It's not credible. It's not believable. It's not consistent,' he said.

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

Mr Evans said the evidence was 'totally inconsistent with the contemporaneous evidence', including CCTV footage and texts the woman had sent to a friend that said she was 'in danger and needed help'.

The night before, the court was told Maurice had used a fake name when he invited an 18-year-old back to the Airbnb that had been leased for his bucks party.

The pair had consensual sex before Maurice began pestering the teen to allow Mr David to join them, Mr Evans said. Maurice's insistence demonstrated his 'inclinations for threesomes or group sex', according to the Crown prosecutor.

He told the jury that the 18-year-old eventually said yes and engaged in consensual sexual activity with Mr David, but she then had to push him off because he didn't listen to her request to stop biting her nipple.

Mr David has not been charged with any offence over the biting, but Mr Evans said it showed his state of mind before the alleged rape.

On Monday, the crown prosecutor said in his closing submissions to the jury that the circumstances of the Friday night proved the women did not consent.

Maurice Hawell, his younger brother Marius and seven other men stayed at the Airbnb, and visited a nearby pub where they met and asked a number of women back to the three-bedroom apartment, the jury heard earlier.

Two of the women agreed to go back to the unit, where consensual sex took place with Maurice Hawell, David and another man who has not been criminally charged, the jury heard.

Afterwards, the two women discussed leaving before going to retrieve their phones from a darkened bedroom, the jury was told.

When they entered the room, they were then allegedly pushed onto the bed, stripped naked and forced to have sex with at least three men.

One of the women described during her evidence feeling a 'swarm of people' around her, none of whom she could identify.

'The way they're taken into the room - it being dark,' Mr Evans said.

'The circumstances prove that there's no consent.'

According to the evidence of one of the women, her clothing was removed while the men forced themselves on her, orally and vaginally.

'(The alleged victim) does not know who's trying to have sexual intercourse with her and she's not consenting,' Mr Evans said.

'She couldn't see.

'If they didn't know that she wasn't consenting, they were at least reckless to her consent.'

Describing exactly who performed which sexual act was impossible because the room was dark, but prosecutors allege the three men were engaged in a joint criminal agreement to rape and sexually touch the women.

A third alleged victim was brought into the flat the following night after Maurice Hawell followed her down the street from the bar, grabbing her hand as she reached his door, Mr Evans said.

After agreeing to go into the apartment for drinks, the woman said she was led into a darkened bedroom where she was raped by Maurice Hawell and David, who took turns swapping sexual positions.

Part-way through, Marius Hawell came into the room and watched, Mr Evans told the court.

Each of the men has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges, including sexual intercourse without consent, sexual touching without consent and attempted sexual touching without consent.

The trial continues.