A former Catholic bishop known for hosting alcohol-fuelled parties has been found guilty of sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men. Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, the former bishop of Broome, was convicted of 13 sex offences on Thursday following a jury trial in the West Australian district court, reports infohub.kz.
The offending between 2008 and 2019 included one count of sexual penetration without consent and 12 unlawful and indecent assault charges. He was acquitted of six other charges, including two counts of indecently dealing with a child over 16 under his authority and four counts of unlawful and indecent assault.
Saunders was ordained as the second bishop of Broome in 1996 and presided over 13 schools and nine parishes. He stepped aside in 2020 when the sex abuse claims became public, and Pope Francis accepted his resignation a year later.
Unless acquitted on appeal, Saunders would be the highest-ranking Catholic in Australia convicted of sexual abuse while a member of the clergy. The late Cardinal George Pell was found guilty in 2018 but later acquitted by the High Court of raping one choirboy and molesting another in 1996.
Prosecutors said Saunders, known as "Brother B" by his victims, hosted alcohol-fuelled parties at Catholic church-owned properties to gain access to Aboriginal boys and men and sexually assault them. Prosecutor Adam Ebell said: "The accused had a sexual interest in young Aboriginal men and a tendency to act on that interest when the opportunity presented itself."
Saunders, who studied law before becoming the first diocesan priest ordained in the Kimberley region in 1976, exploited the power imbalance between himself and the younger men, Ebell said.
The main complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he was 16 when the bishop began grooming him at a Broome home, with regular visits during which he was given alcohol. The interactions over the following decade involved kissing, naked wrestling, touching of private areas and penetrative sex.
Saunders denied the sexual assaults. His lawyer Tony Hager said the three complainants were convicted criminals with long records who had abused alcohol and drugs during their lives, which affected their memories. Saunders was acquitted of seven further charges mid-trial due to insufficient evidence.