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Bishop Christopher Saunders was convicted of sexual abuse on Thursday, after jurours took just seven hours to consider the evidence against the former head of the Diocese of Broome, Australia.
The Western Australia district court found Saunders guilty on 12 counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual penetration against young Aboriginal men. The court found the bishop not guilty of six other charges.
Most of the charges reportedly concerned one victim, who was 16 when the sexual contact began and 19 when it ended. In canon law, persons below the age of 18 are considered minors. According to the prosecutor, the young man “felt shame” at what had occurred but “felt like he could not say no.” Saunders was also accused of committing offenses against a 24-year-old man and another man who was in his late teens.
In the course of the three week trial, Bishop Michael Morrissey of the neighboring Diocese of Geraldton appeared in court to give evidence as a witness for the prosecution, answering questions about Saunders’ use of alcohol in supposedly “pastoral” interactions with young men. Morrissey served as
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