Christopher Saunders, the former Catholic bishop of Broome, was sentenced on Wednesday to six years and six months in prison for sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men, BBC News and The Guardian reported. He is one of the most senior Catholic leaders in the world to face sex abuse charges.
A Western Australian District Court jury found Saunders, 76, guilty in August of one count of sexual penetration without consent and 12 counts of indecent assault. His sentence was backdated to August, and he will be eligible for parole after four and a half years. He was acquitted of other charges, including alleged offences against a third young man.
Prosecutors said Saunders groomed the men by hosting alcohol-fuelled “shirts-off” gatherings at church-owned properties, often using church funds. “I was a toy that he was using,” one victim wrote in an impact statement. “I trusted him. I thought he wanted me to be a better person.” Judge Martin Flynn said Saunders had professed to be an advocate for young Aboriginal men but misused his authority and exploited their vulnerability.
The allegations first surfaced in 2020, when Saunders stepped aside; an initial police investigation was closed without charge, but police reopened the case after a Vatican-ordered inquiry. Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe apologized to the victims: “We are sorry that your trust was so directly and profoundly betrayed by a leader of the church.” Unless overturned on appeal, the conviction makes Saunders the highest-ranking Catholic in Australia convicted of sexual abuse during his time in the clergy, The Guardian said.
Sources: BBC News, The Guardian
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