Five women who are dating a jailed ‘kinky sex overlord’ in a ‘strange’ polyamorous relationship signed servitude contracts before moving into his sprawling home, but his lawyer swears it was nothing more than ‘play acting’ that was not taken seriously.
James-Robert Davis was denied bail in the Supreme Court of New South Wales on Monday as he faces charges of slavery and reducing a woman to servitude.
He will categorically deny any wrongdoing, arguing the victim was well aware that the contract she signed was not legally binding.
His five current girlfriends, including one who is pregnant with his child, have all signed similar contracts, the court heard.
And yet each will testify that they are aware of the limitations of the document they signed, and do not feel compelled to stay in the relationship because of it.
Pictured: Robert James Davis (centre) with lingerie-clad women. He has been charged with slavery offences, which he strenuously denies
Daily Mail Australia has obtained a contract that Davis reportedly issued to potential partners in the past, in which the ‘submissive’ agrees to ‘forfeit elements of [their] body, mind and will’
Instead, the contract is meant to be an affectation of the ‘play pretend’ nature of their consensual, polyamorous BDSM relationship, the say.
‘At no stage did my client exercise any real powers of ownership… There are aspects of play acting, affectations of slavery which do not amount to real slavery,’ Davis’ barrister Ian Lloyd QC said.
Daily Mail Australia has obtained a contract that Davis reportedly issued to potential partners in the past, in which the ‘submissive’ agrees to ‘forfeit elements of [their] body, mind and will’.
In the contract, the ‘submissive’ agrees to display affection whenever required and engage in ‘predetermined kink events, kink related domestic and social activities, play parties and special days’.
The ‘slave’ signs over her sexuality and right to sexual gratification in the contract, which states that ‘all sexual gratification whether by myself or others is a privilege granted at the grace and pleasure of my Owner’.
In total there are 20 clauses that a prospective ‘submissive’ must sign in the contract, which is reviewed first after three months and then renewed every six months.
The contract appears to be based on a broader template, given the names of Master/Slave are left blank, but was shared by an account named ‘Master James’ and specifically referenced the ‘House of Cadifor’, the name Davis gave to his ‘BDSM family’.
Each of the women appeared at Davis’ last court appearance to support him and prove to the court that they were in a consensual relationship
None of the charges relate to his present girlfriends, and they all insist they are in a consensual and loving polyamorous relationship with the 40-year-old
James-Robert Davis was denied bail in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday
Mr Lloyd argued there is ‘no way… [this relationship] could ever be categorised in law as slavery’.
He urged the public to keep an open mind and said any future jury would be expected to differentiate between ‘real slavery… women being kept as sex slaves, and those that are living out a relationship with aspects of play acting’.
Davis and his girlfriends have always lived ‘a strange lifestyle with elements of BDSM,’ the court heard, but Mr Lloyd stressed that there ‘is nothing criminal about that, per se’.
Davis was arrested in March and charged with possessing a slave, reducing a person to slavery and causing a person to remain in servitude after an AFP investigation and a 15-hour raid on his property near Armidale in the New South Wales Northern Tablelands.
Until then, Davis was living with the women in a ‘consensual polyamorous BDSM relationship’ at the sprawling rural property.
The home, which is 30km out of town, is owned by Davis and his pregnant girlfriend and has bedrooms for each of his other partners.
They split household bills evenly.
The court heard that one of the women is willing to be cross examined under oath, at which point she is expected to explain how important it is to her that Davis is home to witness the birth of their child.
Davis is facing one count of reducing a person to slavery, another of possessing a slave and a third charge of causing a person to enter into servitude.
None of the charges relate to his present girlfriends, and they all insist they are in a consensual and loving polyamorous relationship with the 40-year-old.
The women tuned in to the audiovisual link on Monday afternoon to watch as Davis applied for bail.
Davis (centre) had allegedly been living with as many as six women he called ‘slaves’ at his home near Armidale in northern New South Wales
Five highly educated, sexually adventurous women (pictured) stood by their man as he languishes in jail accused of keeping a sex slave when they arrived in court during his last appearance
The property where Davis and his girlfriend live contained a shed which had a barber’s chair and boxes filled with whips, collars and other sex instruments
Daily Mail Australia understands at least three of his girlfriends were going to make the four-hour trek to Sydney from their home to attend the hearing before the city was thrust into a Covid-induced lockdown.
Justice Mark Ierace refused bail, stating the proposed conditions did not satisfy the public’s need to assure the safety of any complainants or witnesses.
He is accused of making a woman sign a contract to enter into slavery, forcing her to wear a steel collar and locking her in a cage for up to three days.
But Mr Lloyd argued that each of the women were given collars upon signing their ‘play’ contract, and that they had access to the allen keys to unlock the collars whenever they needed.
Police allege the woman was subjected to extreme violence and threatened with court action if she broke the contract for the most minor of indiscretions, like going to the toilet without permission.
It is further alleged the woman was forced to work as a prostitute at a brothel six nights a week and hand over every dollar she earned when Davis was tight on cash.
This allegation will also be ‘strenuously denied’, Mr Lloyd told the court.
Several small wooden huts are scattered throughout the rural property, several hundred metres from the main home
Pictured is a supplied Australian Federal Police photo of their raid on the sprawling rural estate outside of Armidale
James Robert Davis (pictured), 40, has been charged with slavery offences relating to a former ‘girlfriend’ who signed a ‘play acting’ contract