21-07-2025
Petford youth camp founder Geoffrey Guest takes the stand in historical child abuse trial
The founder of a Far North Queensland youth camp has denied ever being violent with or sexually assaulting a child in his care, as he stands trial accused of six historical sex offences.
Warning: This article contains details of alleged child abuse that some readers may find distressing.
Geoffrey John Guest, 98, has pleaded not guilty to one count of unlawful carnal knowledge, four counts of unlawful and indecent dealings, and one count of repeated sexual conduct against a child under 16.
The alleged offences took place in the 1970s.
On Monday, Mr Guest was in the witness box for the first time to give evidence in the Cairns District Court.
Opening the prosecution's case, defence counsel Kelly Goodwin described Mr Guest as someone who was "obsessed with helping people".
Responding to Mr Goodwin's questions, Mr Guest told the court how he began caring for "wayward youth" at Petford station after he would go fishing with them.
"Before I knew it, I had big mob there, six, seven, eight kids just turned up," Mr Guest said.
The jury heard of the numerous awards the accused had received, including an Order of Australia Medal and Federation Medal, both related to his services to youth.
Mr Guest told the court of his unstable upbringing, saying he was taken from his Aboriginal mother as a baby and adopted out as a child.
He said he had received no formal education and was physically beaten, and told the court this had made him caring towards others.
"You've heard evidence in this trial that you were violent," Mr Goodwin said.
"That's incorrect, that's not the way I handle people," Mr Guest responded.
Mr Guest regularly noted he had "long-term memory loss", for which he had been receiving treatment over the past several years.
Last week, the court heard from four prosecution witnesses, including two men who were teenagers in Mr Guest's care around the same time as the complainant.
They told the court they saw Mr Guest "flog" the alleged victim.
A former partner of the complainant also gave evidence that he had told her of the alleged abuse after he saw Mr Guest appear on a TV program.
During cross-examination, Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald questioned whether Mr Guest was ever alone with the alleged victim.
"You were there alone with [the complainant] at times?" Ms Friedewald said.
"Often," Mr Guest confirmed.
Ms Friedewald asked whether he ever had "sexual urges".
"I would've because I'm a normal person," Mr Guest said.
Ms Friedewald alleged Mr Guest would use the complainant to satisfy those urges.
As Ms Friedewald questioned Mr Guest on whether he had committed the alleged offences, the 98-year-old rejected each accusation as either "wrong" or "incorrect".
Mr Guest founded the Petford Youth Camp in the late 70s, and it ceased operation in 1999.
The defence case is expected to include 11 witnesses, many whom attended the Petford camp.
Mr Goodwin said each witness would provide evidence of Mr Guest's character, including that he was "respectful", "gentle and talented" and had compassion.
