Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders on trial for sexual abuse in WA

Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, a former Bishop of Broome in Western Australia's Kimberley region, began a trial in the Perth District Court on sexual‑abuse charges covering incidents from 2008 to 2017. Prosecutors allege he hosted alcohol‑fuelled parties on Catholic Church‑owned properties, providing food, cigarettes and church‑funded alcohol to Aboriginal youths. At these gatherings, young men were allegedly required to strip to their boxer shorts, with Saunders offering fresh underwear, and were subjected to wrestling, boxing and unwanted physical contact, including with his feet. He faces 26 charges, including indecent assault and sexual penetration without consent, involving three Aboriginal victims.

Saunders has pleaded not guilty, maintaining his innocence. The case makes him one of Australia's most senior Catholic clerics to be charged with sexual abuse, second only to the late Cardinal George Pell. Prosecutor Adam Ebell told the jury, “The accused had a propensity to act on that sexual interest when the opportunity presented itself.” The trial is being closely watched as an example of institutional abuse within the Catholic Church in Australia.