Horse breeder faces court over German teen’s sex assault

Farm manager Gregory Douglas has been refused bail accused of sexually assaulting a teenage German tourist at his isolated NSW property as The Daily Telegraph can exclusively reveal photos from inside his house.

A terrified teenage backpacker working at an organic farm 50km from the nearest town alleges she was “trapped” and raped by the farm’s owner, a court heard yesterday.

Gregory Richard Douglas, 66, was denied bail at Goulburn­ Court, accused of groping and sexually assaulting the 18-year-old German tourist at his isolated property between September 28 and October 18.

Court documents allege Douglas had sex with the teen, kissed her bottom, touched her breasts and inner-thigh near her vagina and grabbed her hips.

66-year-old farm manager Greg Douglas was refused bail today. Picture: Facebook

He is alleged to have sexually assaulted the teenager between September 28 and October 18.

Douglas’s farmstay was listed on a website called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

Douglas faces one charge of sexual assault and four counts of touching a person without consent after the woman reported the alleged abuse to police at Surry Hills earlier this week.

The horse breeder advertised on an organic farmstays website attracting backpackers who work for free on farms in return for food and accommodation. Douglas posted images of young travellers riding horses, saying the preferred length of stay at his home is “2-4 weeks” and meal procedures were to “eat together”.

Inside the house …

Boxes of opiod drug Tramedo pictured on a bed inside the house.

When The Daily Telegraph visited the property in central west NSW it was empty with wrecked cars out the front. Each room was filled with empty boxes and rubbish. One bedroom had more than a dozen boxes of opioid drug Tramedo on the bed.

Another contained a computer printer and an open cabinet full of empty bourbon and scotch bottles. The remote property is an hour’s drive along a dirt road to a town with mobile reception.

The Daily Telegraph cannot identify the location of the property for legal reasons.

MORE NEWS

Jailed: Blaze mum left kids alone to visit boyfriend

Plan to force HSC students to study maths

Gasnier brothers accuse each other of lies in family feud

Magistrate Geraldine Beattie said police claimed the teen was trapped at Douglas’s property.

“The complainant’s case (is that) the isolation of the property worked against her,” the magistrate said. “She was totally reliant on the defendant for food, accommodation­ and transport, she couldn’t just walk down the street and get away.”

The farm is 50km from the nearest town.

It is understood the young woman had spent a couple of months at the isolated property.

Police prosecutor Andrew Kingston said there was another person at the property at the time of the alleged offences­. “As the facts allude, other parties have stepped forward,” he said.

“There is an active investigation to people who have stayed there in the past.”

Douglas sat emotionless in the dock during the proceedings yesterday. His lawyer Sam Rowland told the court his client would argue that what happened on the farm was consensual. “Consent will be one of several live issues here,” he said. “He will be defending­ these matters.”

Mr Rowland said Douglas, who is pictured on social media tending to horses, should be granted bail to look after his animals.

In the farmstay listing, Douglas said the preferred length of stay was 2-4 weeks.

He has been charged with one count of sexual assault and four counts of touching a person without consent.

“He is responsible for the care of a significant number of horses,” the defence lawyer said.

“He has roughly 50 horses and in addition he cares for 40 horses from people.”

Magistrate Beattie said someone else would have to look after the animals as she believed the risk to the community­ outweighed the request for bail, which she formally­ refused.

“The matters are of great concern, alleging an 18-year-old who has travelled from overseas to work on a rural property,” she said.

“She was reliant and dependant on the defendant.”

Douglas’s farmstay was listed on a website called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, a network of organisations facilitating farm homestays.

The teenager reported the alleged abuse to Surry Hills Police Station.

The listing has now been removed and a spokesman for WWOOF Australia’s website said yesterday the organisation was in the process of implementing police checks on host members. “We are working with the police and assisting them where possible,” she said.

She admitted that there was no official screening process for members of the organisation with police.

“WWOOF has more than 1100 host farms and 3000 members and if there are complaints we remove their profile from the site,” she said.