Farmer John Booth sentenced for sexually touching seven women at Kiama pools

An elderly farmer who has been diagnosed with having “persistent sexual interests” has been told to “keep your hands to yourself” after he sexually touched seven women at Illawarra pools.

John Booth was sentenced for sexually touching women.

An elderly farmer who has been diagnosed with having “persistent sexual interests” has been told to “keep your hands to yourself” after he sexually touched seven women while swimming at pools.

John Robert Booth, 80, was sentenced in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexually touching another person without consent at Kiama Leisure Centre and rock pools – which he has now been banned from attending.

Agreed facts tendered to court said a disability support worker and her client were in the spa at Kiama Leisure Centre on three occasions in December 2022 and January last year.

He touched the support worker on separate occasions on the thigh, and outside of her breast with his hands before he made the same contact days later where she told him “no”.

In January last year, the women attended the spa when he touched the other woman on her leg four times and she kicked out towards him to make him stop.

Kiama rock pool. Picture Matt Dowse

The women told staff and police spoke to Booth at his Jamberoo farm the next day where he was told him to keep his hands and feet to himself.

Only a couple of days later, Booth approached a mother and her adult daughter in Kiama rock pools where he brushed his hand along the mother’s legs prompting her to swim away.

He followed her and touched her knee and moved his hands to her hips.

Booth then moved close to the daughter and brushed her thigh; before he approached and touched the mother again. The women reported the incidents to police.

On March 16, Booth swam up to a different woman and brushed his hand against her buttocks before he touched her inner thigh with his thumb almost touching her vagina.

Booth was sentenced in Wollongong Local Court.

In another incident, two German tourists were at the rock pool when Booth approached one of them and touched her on the thigh and bottom.

He said: “Australia is not dangerous for you girls, the only thing dangerous is old men” before he told her if she hadn’t booked a campground she was welcome to stay on his farm.

In court, Magistrate Michael Ong refused to grant a mental health application to allow for Booth to be discharged into the care of a psychiatrist because he needed ongoing rehabilitation.

Mr Ong accepted Booth had been diagnosed with paraphilia which is a persistent and recurrent sexual interest, urge, fantasy, or behaviour of marked intensity involving objects, activities, or situations that are not typical.

Mr Ong said there was a “clear nexus” between Booth’s diagnosis and the offending, adding he had no criminal history but noted people should be able to swim and not be touched.

He said he was concerned when Booth told his doctor he believed he was giving the women a “compliment” when he touched them because that was an act he would have done when he was younger.

“Just because there was an attitude that was held 10 or 50 years ago does not mean the attitude has continued,” he said.

“It is well understood young ladies who have a swim at a pool, rock pool or beach are entitled to not have unwanted physical touching.

“Simply, keep your hands to yourself.”

Booth was sentenced to eight community correction orders for three years, where he must of good behaviour, attend his psychiatrist, continue his treatment and he is prohibited from attending the leisure centre or rock pool.