Outback priest’s alleged victim claims sexual abuse made him ‘feel like a king’: trial

Updated July 22, 2026 — 6:55pm,first published 4:36pm

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A senior Catholic priest on trial for allegedly sexually abusing Aboriginal teenagers while he worked in an outback diocese argues that while his methods of “pastoral care” were unorthodox – including getting his parishioners to strip off their shirts and wrestle – they were accepted in places like Broome.

Christopher Saunders appeared in WA’s District Court on Wednesday for the second day of his trial over alleged sexual abuse offences.

Former Broome bishop Christopher Saunders at Broome Magistrates Court in 2024.9News Perth

The 76-year-old is facing a total of 26 charges ranging from indecent assault to sexual penetration without consent, all of which are alleged to have taken place between 2008 and 2017. Saunders had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

On the first day of his trial, prosecutor Adam Ebell laid out the claims against the former Bishop of Broome, including allegations he sexually abused three Aboriginal teenagers who had been introduced to him through alcohol-fuelled parties at Catholic Church-owned properties.

The state has also claimed Saunders used money meant for the operation and management of the Broome diocese to buy alcohol, accusing the bishop of packing up hundreds of dollars’ worth of drink into hessian bags, loading them into the Catholic Church-owned plane and flying into the remote dry community of Kalumburu.

There are no charges related to these allegations, but Ebell told the court it went to Saunders’ proclivity to break the vows he had made when entering the priesthood.

On Wednesday, the court heard from one of the bishop’s alleged victims via video link from a courthouse in the Kimberley.

The man, now in his mid-thirties, said he was brought into the bishop’s orbit by a group of other young Aboriginal men who would hang out at his Catholic Church-owned properties. Originally from Kalumburu, he said he revered the priest and considered him a “boss”.

Kalumburu is a predominantly Catholic community.

The state alleged the relationship progressed over time as the bishop bought the then-16-year-old alcohol, cigarettes and clothes. The court was shown a number of photos taken of the teenager shirtless and in his underwear, taken from the bishop’s mobile phone.

The man recounted a number of instances of alleged abuse from when he was a child, and later as an adult, and said the priest often reassured him their actions were appropriate.

“He said ‘come on brother it’s just me and you, it’s man to man. No one’s going to find out’,” the man said.

“I felt out of place, I didn’t feel good but I went along with it just to please him.

“Because if I was to disobey him or talk my way, he would have shut me up.”

Christopher Saunders was the Bishop of Broome at the time of the alleged offending.Wikipedia

He recounted a number of other instances of claimed abuse, including two occasions at the Robinson Street address where the priest kissed and touched him following wrestling matches and drinks, and when the two showered together.

“I found it really disgusting … I didn’t like it one bit,” the alleged victim said.

The man said he often went along with the abuse to get the bishop to stop “hassling him”, and “to make [the bishop] feel like a king, like he’s the boss … to get it out of the way.”

“I got really mad,” he said. “I didn’t want that to happen.”

Also on Wednesday, Saunders’ lawyer Tony Hager launched his defence of the priest. Saunders sat in the dock in a vicar collar, with a crucifix brooch on his left lapel.

Hager told the court that, ultimately, the three complainants all had extensive criminal histories and records of alcohol abuse. Hager claimed they had all either mischaracterised their interactions with the bishop or outright lied about the abuse.

He said the trial would reveal all three men, plus Saunders’ former coworkers, had motivations to lie, and asked the jury to put aside any potential prejudices they harboured about the history of the Catholic Church and sexual abuse.

“You would have to be hiding under a rock not to be appraised of the sentiment in the community [about] the matters of this type,” Hager said.

“Any feelings adverse to the church ... or sexual violence against teenagers, or indeed grown adults, has nothing to do with this case.”

Hager told the jury it was important to understand “pastoral care” in the Kimberley was different to what parishioners could expect in metropolitan areas.

“He’s not on trial for unorthodox socialising,” Hager told the court.

Similarly, Hager said no charges had been laid about Saunders misappropriating church funds to buy alcohol. Hager also said he was charged for breaching Kalumburu by-laws over allegedly smuggling alcohol into the dry community, or for being a “testy boss”.

“At times Saunders was testy, I’d describe it, to work with or take instructions on,” he said.

“He’s not on trial for not being the perfect boss … or maintaining an always harmonious working environment.”

The trial continues.

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