A former high school student’s recollection of historical molestation by a Catholic brother remained uninfected by a later mental breakdown, a judge has found.

Cyril Alfred Hughes, 82, was found guilty on Friday of two counts of the since repealed legislation of homosexual intercourse between a teacher and a pupil.

The alleged victim, who cannot be legally named, was sexually abused in Hughes’ office at Marist Brothers College in Western Sydney in 1985.

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Hughes — who was known as Brother Thomas — was found unfit to stand trial in the Parramatta District Court in April because of a constellation of health conditions including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic back pain and kidney failure.

At a three-week special hearing, crown prosecutor Heidi Cantor said the former teacher’s conduct escalated from touching — including at a school sports carnival — to massaging the boy’s intimate parts and more.

Defence barrister Bill Neild SC said the alleged abuse never occurred, accusing the victim of fabricating his claims for financial gain.

The allegations were also unreliable, having been infected by a controversial therapy called eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing which was known to create false memories, the court was told.

Judge Karen Robinson on Friday found the day student’s memories regarding the rape were reliable, even though he could not remember specific details of what happened.

“I have no difficulty finding the complainant to have been a forthright and honest witness,” she said.

But Hughes was found not guilty of two further counts of indecent assault, where he allegedly touched the boy’s genitals between November 1982 and February 1984.

The judge found that this claimed abuse stemmed from memories “returning” to him in more detail during a breakdown in 2017.

She said she could not be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the memories were not a “repressed” memory, which could be false.

The alleged indecent assault was said to have occurred in the school’s teacher’s lounge.

However, this lounge was officially opened in March 1984, after the period of the claimed abuse.

The victim watched silently in court as judgment was handed down and declined to comment afterwards.

Hughes did not say anything outside court but shielded his face with a green folder as he left flanked by his solicitor Greg Walsh and a support person.

The 82-year-old will face a sentence hearing on November 7.

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National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028