Australian Daniel Rawlings will also have his legal costs paid. Photo / via Instagram
Australian Daniel Rawlings will also have his legal costs paid. Photo / via Instagram
A major cruise ship company will have to shell out more cash to a Sydney tradie who previously won a massive payout after staff detained him for six days amid wrongful rape allegations.
Daniels Rawlings won almost A$100,0000 from Royal Caribbean Cruises in the NSW District Court last year over the ordeal aboard the Explorer of the Seas.
The incident in November 2016 stemmed from a consensual threesome in his cabin.
Rawlings, then 28, was held against his will for six days at the order of the ship's captain after one of the participants, a woman known as Ms A, was found wandering the halls naked and disoriented.
The heavily intoxicated woman had little recollection of the threesome and later accused Rawlings of sexual assault.
Staff, who were concerned the woman could not have given consent, then detained the air conditioning tradesman for the bulk of the 10-day trip from Sydney to Vanuatu.
Judge John Hatzistergos last year awarded Rawlings A$97,394 in damages and concluded that even a "cursory" investigation into the claims would have found "no evidence of foul play at all".
On Monday Judge Hatzistergos also ordered Royal Caribbean pay the 32-year-old's costs for the lengthy legal battle that culminated in a trial in April 2020.
Police board the Explorer of the Seas in November 2016. Photo / 7 News
In his December judgment, the judge said captain Richard Sullivan had been justified in initially holding Rawlings following the woman's complaint.
But he said the continued detention overstepped the mark as it was based on an investigation that was "extremely lacking" and hinged on the "suspicion of a crime rather than any evidence."
"In my view detention comprising conditions akin to solitary confinement for the remainder of the journey back to Sydney as described was not reasonable in the circumstances," Judge Hatzistergos said.
The court heard the northern beaches man booked the cruise with best mate Matthew Champion, who he shared a cabin with.
What was supposed to be a sunny holiday descended into a nightmare for Rawlings, however, after he brought two 18-year-old women back to his cabin on November 15.
Rawlings told the court he pushed the two single beds in his cabin together and the three had sex for "several hours", including in the shower.
He said Ms A at one point became sick and he helped her throw up in the toilet before they returned to the bed.
Champion, who left the room when the three arrived, said he heard giggling and laughing.
The other woman also gave evidence in court that Ms A "knew exactly what she was doing".
Ms A was found early in the morning and told security she was looking for the toilet and believed she was still dancing at Dizzy's Nightclub, the ship's bar where she had met Rawlings.
The court heard the woman's mother threatened to throw Rawlings overboard after hearing of the allegations.
Rawlings was confined between November 15 and 20, 2016, when the ship docked in Sydney, first in a boardroom then an isolated cabin.
For two days he was dressed only in shorts, while security checked on him every 30 minutes in the windowless room.
He told the court he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder following his detention.
Royal Caribbean has lodged an appeal against the December judgment in favour of Rawlings.
Where to get help:
• If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111. • If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on: 0800 044 334 or text 4334. (available 24/7) • Male Survivors Aotearoa offers a range of confidential support at centres across New Zealand - find your closest one here. • Mosaic - Tiaki Tangata: 0800 94 22 94 (available 11am - 8pm) • Alternatively contact your local police station • If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.
