August 13, 2026 — 5:30pm
One of the nation’s highest-ranking Catholics has been found guilty of indecently and sexually assaulting young Aboriginal men while he worked across outback Australia.
The jury returned the verdict in the case of former Bishop of Broome Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, on Thursday afternoon, and ultimately found him guilty of 13 charges, including unlawful and indecent assault and sexual penetration without consent.
The verdict follows a marathon three-week trial in WA’s District Court for the former bishop, who was initially committed to trial on 26 charges, ranging from indecent assault to sexual penetration without consent, against three Aboriginal men dating back as far as 2008.
However, on Friday seven of those charges were dropped, with Judge Martin Flynn telling the jury there was not enough evidence for them to be able to come to a verdict of guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
