Former Bishop of Broome sentenced to over six years for abusing Aboriginal men

In Western Australia’s District Court, former Bishop of Broome Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, was sentenced to six years and six months after a jury convicted him on 13 charges of unlawful and indecent assault and non-consensual penetration involving two devout Aboriginal men from the Kimberley diocese. The three-week trial exposed a pattern of grooming, with Saunders allegedly using church money and properties to host alcohol-heavy “shirts-off” parties and offering cash, cigarettes and alcohol, even employing wrestling and boxing to get close to the victims.

Judge Martin Flynn back-dated the term to August 12 and said Saunders would be eligible for parole, while prosecutor Adam Ebell highlighted the abuse of the bishop’s seniority, and defence lawyer Tony Hager argued the bishop had no prior record and had performed good work. The Vatican can now resume its Vos Estis Lux Mundi investigation, and church officials indicated that decisions about Saunders’ status will be made in Rome, with the local Broome Diocese handling practical matters. Witnesses at the trial called for the bishop’s removal of his emeritus title, and a 2022 decree had already ordered him to leave the Kimberley diocese.