Former Catholic bishop accused of hosting alcohol-fuelled parties to sexually abuse Aboriginal men found guilty

A former high-ranking Catholic known for hosting boozy shirts-off parties has been convicted of sexually abusing twoyoung Aboriginal men.

Former bishop of Broome Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, was found guilty of 13 sex offences on Thursdayfollowing a jury trial in the West Australian district court.

The offending between 2008 and 2019 included one count of sexual penetration without consent and a dozen unlawful and indecent assault charges.

He was acquitted of six other charges, including two counts of indecently dealing with a child over 16 under his authority and four counts of unlawful and indecent assault.

Saunders was ordained as the second Broome bishop in 1996 and presided over 13 schools and nine parishes, before stepping aside in 2020 when the sex abuse claims became public.

Pope Francis accepted his resignation a year later.

Unless acquitted on appeal, Saunders would be the highest-ranking Catholic in Australia convicted of sexual abuse while a member of the clergy.

The late cardinal George Pell was found guilty in 2018 but later acquitted by the high court of raping one choirboy and molesting another in 1996.

Prosecutors said Saunders, known as Brother B by his victims, put on alcohol-fuelled parties at Catholic church-owned properties to get access to Aboriginal boys and men so he could sexually assault them.

“The accused had a sexual interest in young Aboriginal men and a tendency to act on that interest when the opportunity presented itself,” the prosecutor, Adam Ebell, said.

Saunders, who studied law before becoming the first diocesan priest ordained in WA’s Kimberley region in 1976, exploited the power imbalance between himself and the younger men, Ebell said.

The main complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he was 16 when the then bishop started grooming him at a Broome home in regular visits during which he was given alcohol.

The interactions over the decade that followed involved kissing, naked wrestling, touching of private areas and penetrative sex, he said.

Saunders denied the sexual assaults took place.

His lawyer Tony Hager said the three complainants, were convicted criminals with long records who had abused alcohol and drugs during their lives which affected their memories.

Saunders was acquitted of a further seven charges mid-trial due to insufficient evidence being presented to the jury.

Reporting from The Guardian contributed to this story.