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A self-proclaimed ‘kinky sex overlord’ accused of keeping a woman in a cage has been supported in court by five of his girlfriends, including one who is pregnant, as he faced slavery charges.
James Robert Davis appeared before Armidale Local Court in northern NSW on Wednesday over allegations he coerced a woman into prostitution without payment, physically assaulted her and controlled her finances.
The 40-year-old has been charged with possessing a slave, reducing a person to slavery and causing a person to remain in servitude.
The Australian Federal Police allege Davis manipulated a woman between 2012 to 2015 in Maroubra, Sydney’s south, for a so-called ‘cult’.
But his barrister Ian Lloyd QC told the court the allegations against Davis will be defended, the Daily Telegraph reported.
James Robert Davis (pictured), 40, appeared before Armidale Local Court via videolink on Wednesday having been charged with slavery offences
Davis was supported by five of his girlfriends inside Armidale Local Court. They are pictured outside the court
‘My client won’t be on trial for being a member of a cult even if, ultimately, that was accepted as a fact,’ Mr Lloyd told the court.
‘There is no crime in lifestyle choices, no crime associated with consensual BDSM, these matters are not crimes and he has not been charged.’
Mr Lloyd pointed to Davis’s five girlfriends sitting in the back of the court room – including two who are university students, one who is a teacher and another that is 17 weeks pregnant – and claimed they all had ‘no fear about their wellbeing’.
The women are all in a consensual polyamorous relationship with Davis, Mr Lloyd told the court, and they each have a car and bank accounts in their name.
‘Each of these women – if they’re a slave – has had the opportunity to run away; they have not done so,’ Mr Lloyd told the court.
The AFP prosecutor told the court much of the case information came from videos Davis posted online and allegations aired by the ABC, including the use of a cage.
Australian Federal Police vision is pictured of the moment Davis was arrested by officers outside the Bunnings in Armidale, northern New South Wales on Thursday afternoon
The Australian Federal Police raided the sprawling rural property of James Robert Davis about 30km outside Armidale, northern New South Wales, last Thursday
Pictures released by the Australian Federal Police following their raid show the property contained small wooden huts with single beds
The property also contained a shed which had a barber’s chair and boxes filled with whips, collars and other sex instruments
Mr Lloyd told the court any cage Davis had used with the woman could be easily unlocked and had no bottom, adding it was a form of ‘affection’.
Davis had in 2018 featured in the television series ‘Cadifor: A story about love, family and slavery’. He has described himself as a ‘rope performer, fetish photographer, BDSM writer, kink educator, lifestyle dominant and consent advocate’.
The AFP alleges Davis referred to himself as the patriarch of a group known as the ‘House of Cadifor’.
Davis – a 17-year veteran of the Australian Defence Force – was arrested outside the Armidale Bunnings on Thursday after the AFP spent 15 hours raiding his sprawling rural property at Yarrowyck, about 30km outside of Armidale.
Four large wooden sandboxes with women’s names engraved on the side are pictured on Davis’ property
The pictures provide a glimpse inside the ‘The House of Cadifor’, of which Davis refers to himself as the patriarch, police allege
Pictured: Robert James Davis (centre) with lingerie-clad women. He has been charged with slavery offences
Davis (pictured) spent 17 years with the Australian Defence Force and served in the second Gulf War, the court heard
More than 50 AFP investigators and forensic specialists spent last week searching Davis’ Yarrowyck property and seized phones, cameras and computers.
Images released by the AFP after the raid show the property is dotted with several wooden huts located several hundred metres away from the main home, featuring single beds, no air-conditioning and curtains that do little to keep out the light.
Four large wooden sandboxes engraved with women’s names were pictured on the property, along with a shed complete with a barber’s chair and boxes filled with whips, collars and other sex instruments.
Magistrate Vivien Swain refused Davis bail. He will next appear in a Sydney court in May.
