Former Australian bishop Christopher Saunders has been jailed for sexually abusing two younger Aboriginal males during his time as a Catholic cleric.
Saunders – who resigned as Bishop of Broome when first accused of wrongdoing in 2020 – was discovered guilty of one charge of rape and 12 counts of indecent assault.
The 76-year-old was sentenced to six and a half years’ imprisonment, but will be eligible for release on parole in February 2031.
He is one of the most senior Catholic leaders in the world to face costs of this nature.
His trial in the state of Western Australia heard Saunders systematically groomed the two younger males, inviting them to “shirts-off” gatherings and plying them with alcohol, usually utilizing church funds and church-owned properties to do so.
He was convicted of kissing and molesting the males, and in one occasion forcing oral intercourse on one of them.
In a sufferer impression assertion supplied to the court, that younger man said he struggled to discuss about what occurred.
“I was a toy that he was using,” the sufferer said.
“My head is pounding now, I’m in so much pain.”
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