Maurice Hawell

Brothers Marius Hawell & Maurice Hawell and their friend Andrew David were all convicted of sexual assault in company, sexual touching in company and attempting to commit sexual assault in company at a joint trial in July 2024.

The events occurred in an Airbnb in the Australian city of Newcastle over two consecutive nights in 2022.

The three men were apparently law-abiding citizens before these convictions. Maurice Hawell is a solicitor.

All three men reportedly acknowledge that they had sex with the women over two consecutive nights but they maintain their innocence. The women state they had been drinking alcohol, that one had voluntarily consumed MDMA and that both had initially consented to sex.

Their accusers were not able to correctly identify the men with the judge noting:

"No specific act can be attributed to a specific offender due to the darkness of the room and the subsequent inability of either victim to identify which male did each act,..."

Sentences and additional information is in the table below.

Name	Sexual Assault in Company	Sentence	Non-Parole Period	Profession
Andrew David	Seven counts	14 years	8 years & 9 months
Marius Hawell	Five counts	9 years
Maurice Hawell	Seven counts	13 years	7 years & 9 months	Solicitor

The mother of the Hawell brothers and Maurice Hawell's wife believe in their innocence and wrote to the court asking for leniency.

Maurice’s sister also made a submission to the court in which she stated that his “interactions with women have always been defined by courtesy and empathy”.

Crown prosecutor Craig Evans reported responded that there was no evidence that Maurice Hawell had ever previously been respectful of women.