New charges after ‘sex cult’ case dropped
A man has been accused of procuring a 13-year-old child to have sex with him just months after all charges in an alleged BDSM sex cult case were dropped.
James-Robert Davis, 43, appeared in Waverley Court via audiovisual link on Tuesday to apply for bail after he was taken into custody on remand over the fresh allegations.
Police allege in court documents he procured a 13-year-old child to have illegal sex with him at a location in Sydney’s south west, during the 15 months leading up to April 1.
After gaining access to the child, he is further accused of sexually touching them once in March and twice during the afternoon of April 1.
Mr Davis was arrested two weeks later and charged with procuring a child under 14 years old for unlawful sexual activity and three counts of intentionally sexually touching a child under 16 years old.
He was taken into police custody, where he has remained ever since.
The court was closed to the public and media during his application for bail, which was refused by Magistrate George Zdenkowski.
The magistrate deemed the former prison guard would pose an unacceptable risk to the public if released on bail.
The setback comes after the 43-year-old had a major victory in the NSW District Court earlier this year.
He was facing 20 charges in relation to an alleged sex cult, but the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions has confirmed all of the charges were withdrawn in January.
Mr Davis had been due to face a trial this year after pleading not guilty to the charges, which included multiple counts of inciting a person over 16 to an act of indecency, disseminating child abuse material, and torturing animals. All charges have since been dropped.
He was arrested in March 2021 over allegations he kept a woman as a slave in Sydney’s eastern suburbs between 2013 and 2015.
The charges of slavery and sexual servitude of women were withdrawn six months later.
The allegations related to the ‘House of Cadifor’, an alleged BDSM sex cult near Armidale in northern NSW.
The DPP dismissed the remaining counts in January and all allegations in the case were dropped.
The office confirmed on Tuesday there would be no further proceedings against Mr Davis over those charges.
The former soldier will return to court next month when he asks the state to pay his legal costs for the protracted court battle.
