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News.com.au
16 hours ago
- News.com.au
Men who gang raped teens during bucks party weekend fight convictions
WARNING: Distressing content. The credibility of teenagers who were gang raped by a group of men on a bucks party weekend has been called into question, as the men fight their convictions and sentence over the horrific assaults. Maurice Hawell, 31, Andrew David, 31, and Marius Hawell, 24, gang raped two 18-year-old friends on the first night of a bucks party weekend at an Airbnb in Newcastle in February 2022. The following night, they raped a 19-year-old girl. The men were found guilty last July of engaging in a joint criminal enterprise to sexually assault the women following a trial in the NSW District Court. All three men were jailed and have maintained their innocence. David and Maurice have launched fights against their convictions in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, while Marius is pushing against both his conviction and sentence. The credibility of the complainants, who cannot be identified, was called into question during an appeal hearing on Thursday. A short video allegedly taken as one of the women was leaving the Airbnb was played to the court, showing the teenager smiling. Maurice's lawyer claimed this was inconsistent with evidence the teens were 'scared'. 'In our submission she has a massive smile on her face and she gives evidence that she was smiling and laughing … this is inconsistent with …(evidence) that they were scared,' she said. She also claimed one of the teens had initially told police she had given 'full consent' and had said she 'started to enjoy myself' after initially being scared. The court was told the teen later said her statement about consent was because 'she had acted in a way as though she was consenting', and she agreed during the trial she felt as though she needed to give the impression she was enjoying herself. Maurice's lawyer also claimed this gave rise to the possibility her client had a lack of knowledge of consent, and that the woman had given accounts to others that were not consistent with her evidence in the trial. It was also argued sexual activity that occurred on the first night of the joint criminal enterprise could not have 'anything to say about what happened on the Saturday night, and vice versa', with evidence from the Friday night not admissible on the trials of the remaining counts. Each of the men argue directions given about the joint criminal enterprise were 'erroneous', while David and Maurice claim the Crown's direction for the jury to reject the evidence of a trial witness resulted in a miscarriage of justice, among several other grounds of appeal. The three men beamed into court through an audiovisual link on Thursday, with the hearing set to continue on Friday. Maurice Hawell was sentenced to a maximum term of 14 years, with an eight-year and six-month non-parole period. Marius Hawell was given a nine-year sentence, with a non-parole period of five years and five months.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Street performer marks COVID-19 pandemic's 5-year anniversary by singing ‘Rise Up' to Chicago
CHICAGO — On March 25, 2020 – at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic – Andrew David, a Chicago street performer, captivated the city by singing the Leonard Cohen song, 'Hallelujah' on the empty streets. Five years later, he has once again emerged as a symbol of Chicago's strength, singing 'Rise Up,' the Andra Day anthem of resilience. Previous Coverage: Singer fills Chicago's empty streets with hopeful sounds of 'Hallelujah' David's voice echoed from the intersection of North Orleans Street and West Wacker Drive, just like it had five years earlier, when it touched everyone from a health care workers to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who mentioned David in his 2022 election night address. 'Street performer Andrew David serenading Chicago with the song 'Hallelujah' during the early days of the pandemic,' showed the best of Illinois, Pritzker said. 'The reaction to 'Hallelujah' during the pandemic was overwhelming,' David said. 'It's a song that's bigger than me. Bigger than street performing, but so purposeful for such a time as we were in.' More from Mike Lowe: Legally blind photographer determined to share his vision of Chicago More than 1 million Americans died during the pandemic. It re-shaped society – from the workplace to the classroom. But five years later, crowds have returned to the corner, and traffic is busy once again on Wacker drive. 'It definitely is a testament to the City of Chicago just bouncing back year-by-year,' David said. 'Day-by-day from the pandemic.' Savannah Love walked by as David was singing 'Rise Up.' She took special meaning from the son's title. 'You just got to rise up from everything that you're dealing with,' she said. 'It's an anthem of overcoming adversity, hard times personal struggles, so it kind of fits somewhere in everyone's life,' David said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
