Former Bishop Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison for sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men, according to a judgment delivered by a West Australian district court jury.
The court found Saunders guilty of 13 sex offences committed between 2008 and 2019, including one count of sexual penetration without consent and 12 counts of unlawful and indecent assault. He will be eligible for parole after serving four years and six months.
Saunders was ordained as the second bishop of Broome in 1996 and oversaw 13 schools and nine parishes. He stepped aside in 2020 when abuse allegations became public, and Pope Francis accepted his resignation a year later. A church inquiry into his conduct was suspended when police began investigating; it will resume now that the trial has concluded.
Prosecutor Adam Ebell described Saunders, who was known to victims as “Brother B,” as arranging alcohol‑fuelled parties at church‑owned properties to gain access to Aboriginal men and boys. Archbishop Timothy Costelloe praised the courage of the victims and survivors, noting that the findings of the investigation will inform Rome’s decisions regarding Saunders’ position in the Church.
