Felicity Bourke has alleged she was physically and sexually abused by James Robert Davis – a self-proclaimed ‘kinky sex overlord’
The ex-girlfriend of a self-proclaimed ‘kinky sex overlord’ has alleged she was tattooed with a slave number, forced to keep a diary of his abuse and kept for three days in a cage before he was arrested and charged with slavery.
James Robert Davis, 40, was arrested after the Australian Federal Police raided his property in Armidale in northern New South Wales on Thursday afternoon.
More than 50 AFP investigators and forensic specialists last week searched the property – about 30km outside the main town – and seized phones, cameras and computers.
Davis was charged with possessing a slave, reducing a person to slavery and causing a person to remain in servitude.
Police allege he had been living with six women at his home who had signed slavery contracts and were in his ‘possession’.
The 40-year-old has claimed the women subjected themselves to him of their own free will, but his former partner Felicity Bourke alleges she was physically, sexually and psychologically abused over their three-year relationship.
Davis (centre) had allegedly been living with six women he called ‘slaves’ at his home in Armidale in northern New South Wales
Ms Bourke pictured with Davis. She alleged that on one occasion she was kept in a cage for three days to punish her
She alleged she was abused both in front of the other women as well as in private – and on one occasion was kept in a cage for three days as a form of punishment.
Ms Bourke alleged Davis told her to wear a stainless-steel collar and had a tattoo artist etch a ‘slave number’ on her leg to show she belonged to him.
‘He booked it in and took me in and chose the spot and got it on big, dark, thick, black letters down my inner thigh, kind of on my undie line,’ she told Four Corners.
She claimed Davis also told her when to use the bathroom, when to eat, what to wear and controlled any money she made.
Diary entries written by Ms Bourke and referring to Davis as ‘Major James’ spoke of being caned until she fell unconscious, choked and slapped.
‘I’ve hidden it and been ashamed of it for so long,’ Felicity said.
‘He’s taken away all my rights as a person and my ability to live on my own. I was afraid he was going to kill me.’
Ms Bourke said Davis told her to wear a stainless-steel collar and had a tattoo artist etch a ‘slave number’ (pictured) on her leg
AFP vision is pictured of the moment Davis was arrested by officers outside a Bunnings store
More than 50 AFP investigators and forensic specialists last week searched the property in rural NSW
Ms Bourke – who met Davis in Sydney in 2012 while training to be a police officer – finally left him in 2015 after she alleged he ‘beat the living hell’ out of her and locked her in a room for 12 hours.
‘I knew that in his eyes, at that point, I felt like his little prized possession, that he’d put so much and invested so much into me, that he was going to kill me,’ she said.
Davis, 40, was arrested outside a Bunnings Warehouse on Thursday afternoon.
Davis has claimed the women subjected themselves to him out of their own free will but Ms Bourke alleged she was subjected to shocking abuse over their three-year relationship
Davis pictured centre. He did not apply for bail when he fronted Inverell Local Court on Friday
He had called his property ‘The House of Cadifor’ and had previously served with the Australian Defence Force for 17 years.
He even wanted to host a reality TV show about his BDSM lifestyle, The Daily Telegraph reported.
A soldier who trained with Davis at Holsworthy Army Base in 2003 and served with him in Iraq in 2005 described him as ‘really arrogant’.
Prior to his alternative lifestyle Davis had served with the Australian Defence Force for 17 years and even wanted to host a reality TV show about his BDSM lifestyle, Daily Telegraph reported
An Australian Federal Police supplied picture of multiple cabins on the rural NSW property
Davis had called his property in the small regional town of Armidale, northern NSW ‘The House of Cadifor’. Pictured is a supplied Australian Federal Police photo of the raid
‘Our job was to provide security to the ambassador and the embassy, and any security taskings for our own premises or patrols in the area,’ he said.
‘His skills were good like any other trained soldier, but he was arrogant, just really arrogant.’
Davis had been married while serving with the military and had two daughters, though he left his wife when he returned from overseas.
James Robert Davis, 40, has documented his polyamorous lifestyle on his website and a YouTube channel. On Thursday, he is believed to have been charged with possessing a slave after his home was raided by federal police
He then moved into a regional property where he lived with his partner and three other women.
Davis has referred to himself as a ‘patriarchal overlord’ and admitted to asking his lovers to wear collars and call him ‘master’.
His country house even boasted a basement filled with bondage equipment.
Davis did not apply for bail when he fronted Inverell Local Court on Friday and has been ordered to return to court on March 17.
Davis has previously told online how he called himself a ‘patriarchal overlord’ and asked his lovers to wear collars and call him ‘master’
Davis had in 2018 showed in a sneak-peak of the series ‘Cadifor: A story about love, family and slavery’ how his girlfriends kneeled in front of him to greet him.
He moved to Armidale – which he described as a ‘highly conservative town’ – after serving 17 years in the military, he claims.
Davis constructed a dungeon, called House of Cadifor: Fetish Playroom, in the basement of his Armidale home as he was eager to get out of Sydney.
Davis in 2018 showed a sneak-peak of a video series in which girls were seen kneeling in front of him to greet him
The 40-year-old has shown his BDSM lifestyle at his home dubbed ‘The House of Cadifor’
The room was kitted out with bondage equipment including an A-frame, a cage and numerous sex toys.
Davis describes himself as a ‘rope performer, fetish photographer, BDSM writer, kink educator, lifestyle dominant and consent advocate’.
He also claims to be a licensed gynaecologist.
Davis constructed a dungeon with an A-frame in his basement as part of his polyamorous lifestyle
A cage Davis showed viewers in a sneak-peak of his series. He moved to Armidale after serving 17 years in the military
His unique living arrangement has led to Mr Davis ‘receiving a lot of hatred’, but the former soldier said he is just misunderstood.
‘[People] think I must be some kind of abusive oppressor, a misogynist, manipulator, or even a monster,’ he said.
‘But the truth is, I’m just a guy who loves both freedom and commitment, and who was lucky enough to find some incredible women to love, and who love me back.’