Former Catholic Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for sexually assaulting two young Indigenous men during his time leading the diocese in Western Australia.
The 76-year-old was sentenced by a court in Western Australia on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. He will not be eligible for parole until 2031 at the earliest.
Saunders was convicted in August on one count of sexual penetration without consent and multiple counts of indecent assault. He has remained in custody since the verdict was delivered.
The offences took place between 2010 and 2019, when Saunders served as bishop of Broome, a remote diocese in north-western Australia.
Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Saunders allegedly groomed his victims by inviting young Indigenous men and teenagers to a beach house or church residence. He reportedly offered them alcohol, cigarettes, money and mobile phones.
The court also heard that the two men were heavily intoxicated when the assaults occurred.
Reports indicate that Saunders showed little or no visible reaction when the court announced his sentence.
Saunders began his religious career in the 1970s, working at mission stations in remote areas of Australia following his ordination as a priest. He was later appointed Bishop of Broome by Pope John Paul II in the 1990s.
His church duties were suspended in 2020 after allegations of sexual abuse emerged. Pope Francis subsequently accepted his resignation in 2021.
Throughout the legal proceedings leading up to his conviction, Saunders consistently denied the allegations against him.
The President of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, has apologised to the victims for the suffering they experienced.
“We apologise for the pain and suffering inflicted on the victims of Christopher Saunders,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement.
The sentence marks a significant development in the prosecution of one of Australia’s most senior Catholic clergymen, whose decades-long ministry was closely linked to missionary work among Indigenous communities in remote parts of Western Australia.
By: Prince Martey-Sogar.