Colin Gregg, 74, of Gosforth, used to take absent children to school when he worked as a social worker.
Giving evidence at Newcastle Crown Court, he "emphatically" denied accusations that he fondled two of them.
Mr Gregg denies 26 charges of indecent assault relating to nine boys from the 1960s to the 1990s.
He is accused of molesting them in his car, at schools where he worked and at homes.
The hearing was also told how two former pupils where he used to teach at Durham School had accused him of indecently assaulting them during a swimming lesson and while driving in his car.
The prosecution said there was a "consistency" among the accounts of the nine complainants.
The trial has heard the accused became a "wealthy man" by helping expand the family bakery business, which was founded by his father John.
Mr Gregg, a father of three, also worked as the head of the former King's School in Tynemouth and set up the North East Children's Cancer Run.
The trial continues.
The son of the Greggs bakery founder accused of molesting boys has denied "fondling" truants, a court has heard.