Another guilty verdict was reached against one of three men who raped three women during a stag party at their rental property.
Maurice Hawell, 30, his brother Marius Hawell, 22, and Andrew David, 30, are facing a nearly four-week joint trial in the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney.
On Monday, they faced nine convictions in connection with the sexual assault of three women who were lured to their rented Airbnb in Newcastle on a weekend in February 2022 before the wedding of groom Maurice Hawell.
The verdicts included several counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of all three women, as well as aggravated sexual touching and attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a woman.
On Tuesday, the jury returned to find Maurice Hawell guilty again for attempting to sexually touch one of the victims without her consent.
They were sent out to continue their deliberations.
Judge Gina O’Rourke told the jury that only a majority verdict, not a unanimous verdict, was required on the last remaining count of joint aggravated sexual assault against all three men.
The three men wore green prison garb as they were led to the dock, from where they blew kisses to three female supporters in the courtroom on Tuesday.
During the trial, jurors heard that the men met three young women in a nearby pub and invited each of them individually to their homes.
After having consensual sex, two 18-year-old victims retrieved their phones from a darkened bedroom, where they were pushed onto the bed, stripped and “surrounded” by naked men, prosecutor Craig Evans previously said.
Because the room was dark, it was not possible to describe exactly who had performed which sexual act. However, the prosecution claimed that the three men had jointly committed the crime of rape and sexually touching the women.
The following night, a 19-year-old girl entered the apartment under the pretense of having a drink, but was raped by Maurice Hawell and David, who took turns swapping sexual positions.
Marius Hawell came into the room and watched, Mr Evans told the court.
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National Sexual Abuse Victim Support and Reparation Service 1800 211 028