A NSW magistrate has been found guilty of indecently assaulting a teenage boy who considered him a father figure in the 1980s.
Graeme Bryan Curran pleaded not guilty in the NSW District Court to indecently assaulting the boy nine times between 1981 and 1983, when he was aged between 13 and 15.
But on Friday, in the building where the 68-year-old once worked, a jury found him guilty of seven of the counts after two days of deliberations. He was cleared of the other two charges.
During the five-week trial, the jury heard how Curran took advantage of the boy, whose father had earlier died, grooming him with presents, sailing trips and five holidays to Europe.
He even purchased the boy's mother and stepfather a new car and paid off some of their debts.
Curran would go on to sleep naked with the boy - whom he called his "little chicken" - and would perform a "ritual" on him each Saturday morning which involved massaging him and touching his penis.
Four of the assaults occurred during a three-day sailing holiday.
The victim - whose testimony was given in a closed court to protect his identity - told jurors how Curran became "like a father".
"When I still had my clothes on I regarded him as the most important male figure in my life. I trusted him implicitly," the man testified.
In a statement on Friday, the victim said he felt "joy and optimism" following the guilty verdict.
"My immediate response to this conviction is to reassure any abuse survivors thinking of coming forward, and also to victims currently in the process of coming forward, that the feeling of relief brought about by the release from the oppressor far outweighs the doom and gloom of time spent bringing the accused to justice," he said.
"The liberation gained by the conviction is profound but even more so was the opportunity to stand before the court and tell my story - this is when true freedom is found."
Curran has denied all allegations and said his decision to often sleep in the same bed as a boy was "perhaps the most foolish" he ever made.
He remained composed as the verdicts were read on Friday.
Curran was sworn in as a magistrate in 2002 but was suspended after being charged in November 2017.
The NSW chief magistrate's office said Curran would remain suspended until all criminal proceedings had concluded.
"As he has not exhausted his appeal rights it would be inappropriate to make any further comment," a spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday.
Curran's bail has been continued until a sentence hearing on May 17.
