Updated July 21, 2026 – 6:49 p.m.,first published 4:10 p.m. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO One of the country’s most senior Catholics allegedly plied young Aboriginal men with alcohol, forced them to strip naked and sexually abused them on properties
Updated ,first published
One of the country’s most senior Catholics allegedly plied young Aboriginal men with alcohol, forced them to strip naked and sexually abused them on properties owned by the Catholic Church across outback Western Australia, a court has heard.
Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, appeared in the WA District Court on Wednesday on the first day of his trial on 26 counts of sexual abuse against three young Aboriginal men, ranging from indecent assault to sexual penetration without consent.
The incidents are alleged to have taken place between 2008 and 2017, when Saunders was Bishop of Broome, in the Kimberley region of WA. Saunders has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has long maintained his innocence.
The 76-year-old wore an all-black suit on the first day of his trial, with a white vicar’s collar. He had a crucifix brooch on the lapel of his suit.
Originally from Victoria, Saunders was first ordained a priest in 1976 and moved to the far north of Western Australia, where he worked for the Diocese of Broome.
On Tuesday, the court was told Saunders was known for his work in remote Aboriginal communities and was appointed Bishop of Broome in 1995. He had been in the role for two decades when allegations about his conduct began to emerge and police launched an investigation.
The subsequent charges made Saunders one of Australia’s most senior Catholic clerics accused of sexual abuse, second only to the late Cardinal George Pell, who was eventually acquitted by the High Court of Australia.
Alcohol-fueled parties and wrestling calls
In court on Wednesday, State’s Attorney Adam Ebell revealed for the first time the details of Saunders’ charges, alleging he had a sexual interest in Aboriginal youth.
“The defendant had a propensity to act on that sexual interest when the opportunity arose,” he told the court.
“And that opportunity presented itself.”
Saunders allegedly hosted alcohol-fueled parties during his time as a priest at his properties around the Kimberley, the court was told, often enforcing a strict dress code that mandated young Aboriginal men had to remove their shirts to attend.
He provided them with cigarettes and food, all supposedly paid for by the Catholic Church.
Alcohol, strictly regulated in Kimberley due to its festering impact on communities, was also often served with church money.
Ebell told the court that, at these parties, Saunders used boxing and wrestling as a way to excuse physical contact with men.
The three complainants are Aboriginal men, now in their early 30s.
The first complainant was 16 when he first met the bishop during a visit with other children to his home, known in Broome as the Bishop’s House, in Robinson Street.
Ebell told the court that the boy was with a group of other youths when he attended the house for a party, and that the group knew the bishop as “Brother B.”
He sat drinking and smoking with the group when Saunders approached and allegedly told the boy that he knew his father, who had since died.
“This meant a lot to him,” Ebell told the court.
The boy was a devout Catholic and originally from the remote northern community of Kalumburu.
Kalumburu is a deeply religious community and is inaccessible during the rainy season due to flooding, meaning the bishop frequently used the church-funded plane to enter and leave the region.
It was also for this reason, Ebell told the court, that the boy completely trusted Saunders and saw him as an authority figure.
The court was told the boy subsequently became a frequent visitor to Saunders’ properties on the other side of the Kimberley, and the bishop allegedly began grooming him by buying him clothes, food and cigarettes.
Over time, Saunders allegedly began sexually assaulting the boy at properties owned by the Catholic Church, including his home, in a Kununurra hotel room, at the Kalumburu Mission and at the “Bethlehem Retreat” in Riddell Beach.
The alleged behavior continued for the boy from the age of 16 and only ended when he turned 19.
Ebell told the court that eventually the young man would tell Saunders to stop and push him away, but Saunders would persist.
Two other men, now in their 30s, will give evidence about their own alleged abuse by the priest.
On Tuesday, the court was shown several photographs of young Aboriginal men (allegedly found on Saunders’ mobile phone) who were all shirtless and posing.
Several of the young men had crucifix necklaces adorning their chests. Ebell alleged that Saunders had purchased at least two necklaces for the alleged victims.
In other cases of alleged abuse, the court heard on one occasion, Saunders had offered the second plaintiff $150 to do some work on his property in Riddell Beach.
Instead, the men allegedly got drunk together and Saunders attempted to touch him, kiss him and tell him she loved him. He allegedly gave the man $100 when he dropped him off at home.
The third complainant alleged that Saunders touched him inappropriately under the guise of fighting.
The court heard that when he resisted or asked what the bishop was doing, Saunders claimed he was “just having fun”.
Other men who were in the group of young men and boys who would drink with the bishop will testify throughout the trial.
Collaborators and high-ranking Catholic figures will testify
Former co-workers and other employees of the Catholic Church will also testify about their work under the bishop and what they observed.
Ebell told the court that his co-workers claimed the only people allowed on the bishop’s private properties were young Aboriginal people, and that two of Saunders’ previous employees said they sometimes helped him smuggle alcohol in burlap bags into Kalumburu, which is a dry community.
The court heard that a woman who worked at the church said she often saw receipts for alcohol that had been purchased with church funds.
“She will allege that when she worked there, she saw monthly bills of about $1000 from the Roebuck Bay Hotel,” Ebell told the court.
Saunders also allegedly used church money to buy mobile phones for Aboriginal youth, and Ebell said there was a clear disparity between how he treated young men and young women.
The court heard police even bugged his home in Broome in 2024, with prosecutors playing three and a half minutes of footage taken from the camera that had been placed on the roof of the house.
The bishop can be seen shirtless and drinking with a young Aboriginal man, both sitting in armchairs facing each other.
The footage captures the bishop placing his feet in the man’s lap over his shorts, and the man doing the same. As he watched the footage played in court, Saunders pushed up his glasses and leaned forward.
In the footage, the men are seen slapping and fighting each other before hugging.
One of Western Australia’s most senior Catholics, Michael Morrissey, currently Bishop of Geraldton, will also give evidence during the trial.
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