Magistrate Graeme Curran made ‘foolish mistake’ sharing bed with boy

A Sydney magistrate’s decision to share a bed with a teenage boy who later accused him of child sex abuse was likely the worst mistake he ever made, his lawyer says.

A Sydney magistrate’s decision to share a bed with a teenage boy who later accused him of child sex abuse was likely the worst mistake he ever made, his lawyer says.

Graeme Curran has pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting his family friend nine times in the 1980s when the child was aged between 13 and 15.

The 67-year-old has strongly denied giving the child oral sex during a private 1982 Easter sailing trip and taking baths together, but has admitted to sleeping next to him on overseas holidays and regularly at his home.

Graeme Curran has pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting his family friend. Picture: AAP

Defence barrister Phillip Boulten SC said although sleeping in the same bed as a young boy was “perhaps the most foolish decision the accused has ever made”, Curran hasn’t been charged over it.

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“Even if you think it is gravely improper, that’s not the issue here,” Mr Boulten told the Downing Centre District Court trial on Monday.

In his closing submissions, Mr Boulten said none of the complainant’s horrific allegations were true and added that his unreliable testimony was riddled with inconsistencies.

The childless magistrate first met the then seven-year-old boy in 1974 when he was 22, and has told the court he soon became “like a son”.

Mr Boulten said his client never performed a bizarre Saturday “ritual” of running his fingers over the teen’s genitals during weekend sleepovers, noting the complainant’s brother was always in the house.

“No one saw it, no one heard it,” Mr Boulten said.

“He may well be lying, he may well be fudging the truth. He may well be exaggerating or he may believe every single thing he said.”

Originally published as Magistrate Graeme Curran made ‘foolish mistake’ sharing bed with boy