A former NSW magistrate has been jailed for at least 16 months for indecently assaulting an underage boy he groomed with presents, sailing trips and overseas holidays in the 1980s.

Graeme Curran was found guilty by a jury in April of seven out of nine charges of indecent assault, committed in the early 1980s when his victim was aged between 13 and 15.

The victim told the 69-year-old’s sentence hearing in May while the physical acts were impossible to forget, Curran’s “psychological manipulation of me proved crippling”.

In the NSW District Court on Friday, Acting Judge Anthony Rafter jailed Curran for two years and four months with a non-parole period of 16 months.

Curran was a family friend of the victim and Judge Rafter described the assaults as a “very grave breach of trust”.

“The offender exploited the complainant’s vulnerability for his own sexual gratification,” he said.

It was also revealed that the ex-magistrate would refer to the complainant as “his little chicken”.

Despite being confronted with the allegations on multiple occasions, Curran repeatedly downplayed the accusations or “minimised his conduct”.

Judge Rafter said this played a role in the delay between when the offences occurred and when the charges were laid.

In a statement read by the victim’s friend, he said the conviction and being able to tell his side of the story in court gave him “true freedom”.

Curran has continued to deny the charges, with his lawyer saying the victim was “mixed up”.

Curran was sworn in as a magistrate in 2002 but was suspended after he was charged in late 2017.

He was due to be sentenced in June but that date was changed after his barrister said he was sick in hospital.