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The criminal trial of 76-year-old Australian Bishop Christopher Saunders on historic sexual abuse charges began this week, with the bishop facing the prospect of lengthy incarceration if convicted.
Saunders, who served as Bishop of Broome, Western Australia, from 1996 until his resignation in 2021, is facing 26 charges of sexual offenses against three young Aboriginal men. He denies the charges.
The trial, which is scheduled to last three weeks, opened July 21 at the District Court of Western Australia in Perth.
Prosecutor Adam Ebell told the court that Saunders was sexually attracted to Aboriginal males and invited them to “alcohol-fueled” parties at Church properties across the state’s Kimberley region, Australia’s ABC News reported.
The prosecutor said the dress code at the parties was “shirts off” and there was a “seemingly endless supply of alcohol and cigarettes,” bought using Church funds.
The prosecutor alleged that Saunders used boxing and wrestling as a “subterfuge” to engage in physical contact with the young men.
Most of the charges reportedly concern one alleged victim, who was 16 when the claimed sexual contact began and 19 when it ended. According to the prosecutor, the young man “felt shame” at what had occurred but “felt like he
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