Christopher Saunders sentenced to prison for sexual assault

Former Catholic Bishop Christopher Saunders has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for the sexual assault of two young Indigenous men. The 76-year-old, who served as the Bishop of Broome in Western Australia, was sentenced by a District Court on October 7, 2026. He will not be eligible for parole until at least February 2031.

Saunders was found guilty of 13 out of 19 charges related to offenses occurring between 2008 and 2019. The convictions include one count of sexual penetration without consent and twelve counts of unlawful and indecent assault. Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Saunders groomed his victims by providing them with alcohol, cigarettes, money, and mobile phones before the assaults occurred while they were heavily intoxicated.

Following his conviction in August, Saunders had been held in custody. The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, through President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, issued an apology for the harm caused to the victims. Costelloe praised the courage of the survivors, stating that the sentence recognizes the “gravity and serious nature of the offences” and the profound impact on those involved.