Former Catholic bishop convicted on 13 of 19 sexual abuse charges in Broome, Western Australia, Australia

Christopher Alan Saunders, a former Catholic Bishop of Broome in Western Australia, was the subject of allegations of sexual abuse against young Aboriginal men. One early report, dated January 2008, said he was an outback priest who had allegedly smuggled alcohol on a church-owned plane and abused Aboriginal boys. That report described 26 sexual abuse charges against three young Aboriginal men, with allegations spanning 2008 to 2017. The dating and charge count in that report differ from later accounts, and the source material does not reconcile them.

Saunders, then 74 according to a February 2024 report by Crux, was arrested at his home in Broome on February 22, 2024. A separate WAtoday report said he spent the night in custody before appearing in court. That report stated he faced two counts of sexual penetration without consent, though the text available to this editor is incomplete at that point.

On August 11, 2026, Saunders appeared in the District Court of Western Australia in Perth. Reports described the proceedings as relating to allegations of clergy abuse. Later reports said a jury in Western Australia convicted him on 13 of 19 charges of sexual abuse. Some reports stated that the alleged offenses occurred between 2008 and 2019 in his diocese on the tropical northwest coast, which differs from the 2008 to 2017 span in the earlier report. The Independent and myMotherLode described the victims as two men, while the 2008 report referred to three young Aboriginal men.

Following the trial, Saunders, listed at 76, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison, according to NBC News and the Independent. Reports identified the convicted offenses as 13 of 19 charges, and the source material does not indicate the outcome of any other charges.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of the Australian Bishops Conference acknowledged the eight-year delay in bringing Saunders to justice in the Indigenous abuse case. He also defended the process, according to the Independent. Protecting those least able to defend themselves is a theme that runs through these accounts of young Aboriginal men who were allegedly harmed (Proverbs 31:8-9).