source : the age
The former Bishop of Broome has been jailed for six years and six months after he was found to have sexually abused two Aboriginal men.
Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, appeared in WA District Court on Wednesday after he was found guilty by a jury on 13 charges including unlawful and indecent assault and penetration without consent in August.
The trial, which ran for three weeks, found Saunders had committed the offences against two men between 2010 and 2019, who were Catholics and lived in the Kimberley diocese where he was the most senior Catholic in the northern WA district.
The jury found Saunders had engaged in systemic grooming of the two victims, including instances where he would use church funds and church-owned properties to host alcohol-fuelled “shirts-off” parties.
During sentencing on Wednesday, District Court Judge Martin Flynn said Saunders would be eligible for parole after 4½ years, and his sentence would be backdated to August 12.
Flynn said the two men had been resilient and factual during their evidence, and had given “remarkably similar” testimony about the bishop’s gatherings and the way he would offend against young men.
The most serious charge the bishop has been convicted of was rape, which happened on a farm just outside Kununurra when he was visiting on a trip.
The complainant said he had been drinking with the bishop and his “head had begun to spin” when he laid down, and felt the bishop force oral sex on him.
He attempted to push the bishop off, but Saunders continued and said: “Come on brother, it’s between me and you – no one is going to find out.”
Flynn said he accepted the complainant’s evidence.
“[He] was so intoxicated that it was impossible for him to freely and voluntarily offer consent,” he said.
The court heard how another victim also reported being groped and kissed by Saunders without consent, in what the court determined to be a pattern of behaviour.
Flynn said only the victim of the rape had provided a victim impact statement, and read sections allowed for the court.
“I trusted him. I thought he wanted me to be a better person. I realise after all those years I was a toy he was using,” Flynn quoted.
“My head is pounding now, I have too much pain … I can’t talk about it, it f—s my head up. I couldn’t tell anybody I was ashamed of myself. I am still ashamed of myself.
“I want to move on but I can’t move on because it doesn’t leave my head.”
Flynn was also scathing of the bishop’s decision to continuously provide young Aboriginal men with alcohol, and said he had likely contributed to addiction difficulties they faced later in life.
“I am satisfied that your offending has made a contributing to each of the impairments that those men are suffering, each day, years after what you did,” he said.
“In deciding to prioritise your desire for sex gratification you disregarded the dignity of each of those victims.”
Flynn said he would not give any weight to letters written to the court about the bishop’s character, saying the man they knew was evidently not the man he actually was.
After sentencing, WA Police Detective Sergeant Andrew Broadley said the investigative team wanted to acknowledge the “courage and resilience” shown by the complainants and the witnesses.
“The complainants were pleased with the verdicts, they’re relieved it’s over,” he said.
“It has been incredibly difficult they summoned an immense amount of courage to make these reports in the first place, so I’m just glad we have had the opportunity to support them over the last three years.
“WA Police encourages any victim of sexual abuse to come forward. This outcome proves that reporting works and it underscores our commitment to thoroughly investigate allegations of this nature, no matter how much time has passed.”
Private investigator Tim Murray, who was hired by the Vatican when the allegations came to light, said he hoped the end of the matter was satisfying for locals.
“I just hope the young Indigenous people in the Kimberley can start to heal,” he said.
“I really think it’s a good day for Western Australia, as it’s very hard to bring such a powerful man down.
“Who knows what damage has already been done to these young people.”
When asked if he thought the Catholic Church would act following the conclusion of the trial, Murray said he was hopeful.
Now criminal proceedings are formally completed, the Vatican will be able to restart its own Vos Estis Lux Mundi investigation into the bishop’s conduct.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB released a statement after the sentencing.
“The journey of the Church must also continue,” he said.
“The crimes for which the former bishop of Broome has been sentenced today are a shocking and shameful reminder of this.”
At least two witnesses in the trial have called on the Vatican to defrock Saunders, and strip him of his title as emeritus bishop.
