Royal Caribbean Cruises calls for payment from Tradie for three-way detention

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Cruise company argued in court that its ship captain was justified in detaining a Sydney tradie for several days after a young woman accused him of sexually assaulting her during a threesome in her bedroom

Royal Caribbean Cruises is appealing the decision to award Daniel Rawlings more than $ 100,000 in damages and legal costs after successfully suing the cruise giant last year.

The court heard that Mr. Rawlings was 28 when he was held in solitary confinement for six days on the Explorer of the Seas in November 2016 following allegations made by a woman known as Ms. A, who was found confused and disoriented.

Mr Rawlings, of Sydney’s North Beaches, has denied any wrongdoing and has never been charged by police.

In December, Judge John Hatzistergos ruled that the air conditioning trader’s continued detention was unreasonable and based on “a suspicion of crime rather than evidence”.

The court heard Ms A was found naked in the ship in the early hours of November 15 and told security she had no recollection of what happened after leaving the ship’s nightclub, Dizzy’s , around 2 a.m.

She was caught on CCTV entering Mr Rawlings’ bedroom with him and another woman, and was then seen leaving naked before entering an elderly couple’s bedroom.

The other woman involved in the trio told district court last year that Ms A “knew exactly what she was doing” during the consensual sex session which lasted for several hours.

Judge Hatzistergos ruled that Mr Rawlings’ initial isolation for two days from November 15, 2016 was justified, as the ship’s staff were investigating a serious allegation against him.

But he ruled that Captain Richard Sullivan’s decision to extend captivity on November 17 defied the advice of a company security expert and appeared to have been swayed by the reaction of Ms A’s mother who said that she would throw Mr. Rawlings overboard if he were released from solitary confinement.

The Court of Appeal, however, learned on Monday that Judge Hatzistergos had not properly taken into account “the risk of ordering on board the ship” given the emotional environment on board.

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Royal Caribbean attorney Edward Cox said Captain Sullivan had the ultimate decision-making power and believed keeping Mr Rawlings locked up would protect him, Ms A, and preserve a potential crime scene.

Mr. Cox also argued that the decision to award Mr. Rawlings $ 97,394 was excessive because it took into account the initial shock during the first detention, which the judge found appropriate.

He said the judgment declaring that Mr. Rawlings should receive $ 70,000 for the last three and a half days he had spent in a windowless room, receiving “room service” and watching television, was “out of hand. any proportion “.

Mr Rawlings’ attorney, David Stanton, said the payment was fair, saying his client’s time in isolation caused undue stress and anxiety.

The court heard that Mr Rawlings had not received specific details as to why he was being held and feared he would be turned over to foreign police after Captain Sullivan revealed he wanted him to leave the ship to Noumea.

Mr Stanton said his client was stuck in a room with a door ajar where guards watched him every 30 minutes and had occasionally caught him naked.

Mr Rawlings even started smoking just to get out of the room for brief moments, the court said.

“I felt like I had no rights,” Rawlings told district court last year.

Mr Rawlings said he was in tears when Ms A’s mother came to confront a security guard at his doorstep shouting that he should be “tied”.

The court heard that Mr Rawlings was initially detained after security personnel found Ms A could not have consented to sex due to her intoxication, and her mother suggested that she had maybe been drugged.

Mr Rawlings was detained for most of the 10-day trip from Sydney to Vanuatu which he booked for $ 2,500 with his best friend. For two days, he was detained wearing only shorts.

The court heard that Captain Sullivan intended to disembark Mr. Rawlings in Noumea while the cruise continued to Sydney on November 16, but local authorities refused to allow it.

A police investigation revealed that Ms. A’s memory of the night was contradicted by CCTV footage on board the ship and that she had no recollection of the events in Mr. Rawlings’ bedroom.

The court reserved its decision.

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