Christopher Alan Saunders, the 76-year-old former Bishop of Broome, has been sentenced to six years and six months in prison after being found guilty of 13 sex offences. The West Australian District Court jury trial concluded with Saunders being convicted of abusing two young Aboriginal men.
The offences, which occurred between 2008 and 2019, included one count of sexual penetration without consent and 12 charges of unlawful and indecent assault. Saunders will be eligible for parole after serving four years and six months of his sentence, which has been backdated to August when he was taken into custody.
Prosecutors stated that Saunders, referred to as Brother B by his victims, hosted alcohol-fuelled parties at Catholic church properties to gain access to Aboriginal boys and men for sexual assault. Archbishop Timothy Costelloe noted in August that a church probe into Saunders' activities, suspended during the police investigation, is now set to restart to inform decisions in Rome regarding his position in the church.