Father Gregory Laurence Ferguson

Marist Priest and Convicted Child Sex Offender

Father Gregory Laurence Ferguson was a member of the Marist Fathers. He began training for the priesthood in 1955, aged 18, and was later ordained as a Catholic priest. For much of his career he worked as a teacher, boarding master and parish priest in various parts of Australia.

1970–1971: Marist College Burnie

Between 1970 and 1971, Ferguson was a teacher and boarding master at the then boys-only Marist College Burnie in north-west Tasmania, now known as Marist Regional College. He was aged about 33 to 34.

It was during this period that Ferguson sexually abused boys in his room in the school's boarding house.

The original police investigation in 2004–05 resulted in charges relating to six former students. The charges included four counts of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person under 17, contrary to section 125A of the Tasmanian Criminal Code, and two counts of indecent assault under section 127.

The six complainants were not necessarily Ferguson's only victims. They were the former students from whom police obtained signed statements.

2007: First Trial and Convictions

The prosecution ultimately proceeded against three boys in two separate trials before the Tasmanian Supreme Court in Launceston.

The first trial began in March 2007 and concerned two boys who were about 13 years old when the offences occurred in 1971.

The jury found Ferguson guilty of maintaining a sexual relationship with one boy and indecently assaulting the other. The first conviction incorporated three separate indecent assaults, while the second involved one assault.

During sentencing, Supreme Court Justice Ewan Crawford described the offences as serious because of the ages of the boys and the breach of trust involved. The boys had been placed in the care of the college and its staff by their parents.

According to the sentencing remarks, Ferguson had invited or directed boys to his room in the priests' quarters for sexual purposes. The judge described several occasions on which Ferguson abused the boys while they were in his room.

The court also heard about the lasting psychological impact on the victims. One complainant was described as having been badly affected psychologically, while another said the abuse contributed to behavioural problems, loss of trust in priests and staff, and his leaving school at a young age.

On 15 May 2007, aged 70, Ferguson was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

September–December 2007: Second Trial

While Ferguson was serving his sentence, a second trial was held concerning another former Marist College boarder, who had been 12 years old when the offences occurred in 1970.

The prosecution alleged that Ferguson had committed up to seven indecent assaults against the boy.

The first jury was discharged after a witness referred to Ferguson's earlier trial and conviction. A fresh jury was subsequently empanelled.

In November 2007, the new jury found Ferguson guilty.

Before sentencing, the victim's impact statement was read to the court. He described decades of shame, embarrassment, loneliness and guilt. He also said that the abuse had affected his relationship with the Catholic Church: he would not allow his daughters to be christened as Catholics or attend Catholic schools. He continued to have difficulty trusting men.

On 13 December 2007, Justice Ewan Crawford sentenced Ferguson to a further three years' imprisonment, with an 18-month non-parole period.

The sentence was ordered to be served cumulatively with the sentence imposed in May. Ferguson therefore received a total sentence of five years' imprisonment, with 18 months to be served before he became eligible for parole.

Ferguson's Later Career

The court heard in 2007 that Ferguson had undertaken teaching duties until 1972. Justice Crawford noted that it was possible he had stopped teaching following complaints about his behaviour towards boys, although the judge had not been provided with evidence establishing that this was the reason.

From 1972 until his retirement in 2002, Ferguson worked as a parish priest in various locations.

Australian Catholic directories subsequently recorded his movements around Australia. In 1979 he was listed at St Bernard's parish in Claremont, near Hobart. In 1988 he was listed at Ashgrove in Brisbane. During the early 1990s he was living at Marist Fathers' residences in Sydney.

In 1996–97, he was an assistant priest at Star of the Sea parish in Gladstone, Queensland. In 1999 and 2000, he was at St Aidan's parish in Rooty Hill in western Sydney.

Following his first conviction in May 2007, the Gladstone Observer reported Ferguson's conviction to the local community.

2019: Letter Reveals Earlier Concerns

A significant development emerged in 2019 when the ABC obtained a letter written by Father Bernard Hosie, who had been principal of Marist College at the time Ferguson was working there.

The letter was addressed to Father Peter Guiren, a former Marist College principal and Marist Provincial. Father Hosie sought advice about whether Ferguson should be moved from the school.

According to the letter, Hosie knew that Ferguson had been "fooling around" with eight boys in his room. Hosie also indicated that he and two colleagues were concerned that Ferguson's behaviour was widely known among students.

Despite these concerns, the letter indicated that Hosie considered leaving Ferguson at the school for another year. He was also concerned that if parents or the wider community became aware of Ferguson's behaviour, the school could face litigation.

The letter therefore raised serious questions about what Marist authorities knew about Ferguson's behaviour during his time at Marist College Burnie and what action was taken in response.

The Wider Burnie Context

Ferguson's case formed part of a broader history of sexual-abuse allegations and convictions involving religious and other figures associated with the Burnie area.

Among those connected with Marist College was Tasmanian priest Monsignor Philip Green, who was convicted in 2004 of indecently assaulting a young man.

In 2005, former Marist College physical education teacher Paul Ronald Goldsmith, a former trainee priest, was jailed for sexual offences against boys in the Burnie area during the 1970s and 1980s.

Former Test umpire Steve Randell was also jailed for sexual offences against young girls at the college in the early 1980s, after the school had become co-educational.

Former Tasmanian Anglican priests Louis Daniels and Garth Hawkins were also later jailed for sexual offences against boys in the Burnie area.

How Many Victims?

The full number of boys sexually abused by Ferguson may never be known.

The original police investigation involved six former students who provided signed statements, but the available evidence does not establish that these represented all of Ferguson's victims.

The later-revealed 2019 letter, referring to concerns about Ferguson's behaviour towards eight boys, further demonstrates that the known victims may not represent the full extent of his conduct.

Ferguson's case illustrates the difficulty of establishing the full scale of historical child sexual abuse when victims may wait decades before reporting what happened.

Imprisonment

Following the two trials in 2007, Father Gregory Laurence Ferguson received a combined sentence of five years' imprisonment, with an 18-month non-parole period.

His convictions concerned sexual offences against boys who had been students and boarders at Marist College Burnie during 1970 and 1971.

The case also raised wider questions about the responsibilities of religious organisations when concerns about the conduct of clergy towards children are brought to their attention.