Australian jury convicts former Catholic bishop of sexually abusing 2 men

Australian jury convicts former Catholic bishop of sexually abusing 2 men 1 of 2 | Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders arrives at the West Australian District Court in Perth, Tuesday, Aug.11, 2026. (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AAP) 2 of 2 | Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome, left, tries to play a didgeridoo during a World Youth Day 2008 media event in Sydney, Australia, on April 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File) 1 of 2 | Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders arrives at the West Australian District Court in Perth, Tuesday, Aug.11, 2026. (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AAP) 1 of 2 Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders arrives at the West Australian District Court in Perth, Tuesday, Aug.11, 2026. (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AAP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 2 | Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome, left, tries to play a didgeridoo during a World Youth Day 2008 media event in Sydney, Australia, on April 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File) 2 of 2 Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome, left, tries to play a didgeridoo during a World Youth Day 2008 media event in Sydney, Australia, on April 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Perth, Australia (AP) — An Australian jury on Thursday convicted a former Catholic bishop renowned for hosting alcohol-fueled house parties of sexually abusing two young Indigenous men.The District Court of Western Australia jury convicted Christopher Saunders, 76, of 13 out of 19 charges of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred between 2008 and 2019 in his sprawling diocese on the country’s tropical northwest coast.Prosecutors alleged he lured young Indigenous men to his church-owned house with free alcohol and cigarettes paid for with church funds. House rules included that the male-only guests had to remove their shirts.The convictions included one count of sexual penetration without consent and a dozen indecent assaults.He was acquitted of six charges that included a third alleged victim and indecent dealing with a child over the age of 16. While the age of consent in the state is 16, the law raises the effective age of consent to 18 if an older person is in a position of trust, power or responsibility. Four charges of sexual penetration of a child younger than 13 years were dropped on the first day of Saunders’ three-week trial.Saunders is one of the most senior Australian Catholics to be convicted in a global clergy abuse scandal that has besieged the Vatican for years. Cardinal George Pell was convicted of abusing choir boys and Archbishop Philip Wilson was convicted of covering up child sex abuse. But both Australian clerics successfully appealed their convictions.Saunders led the remote Broome Diocese from 1996 until he resigned in 2021. The Outback diocese covers an area larger than France with a population of only 50,000 people. Most of the region’s Catholics are Indigenous. His resignation followed a police announcement that they had dropped a criminal investigation into sexual allegations against him.He had stood down from the church governance role a year earlier after news media reported the allegations.The Vatican began its own investigation into Saunders in 2022 then handed the Western Australia Police Force a 200-page report on its findings the following year. Police reopened the criminal investigation and charged Saunders in 2024. While the report’s contents were never officially made public, they were leaked to Australia’s Seven Network television news, which reported Saunders likely sexually assaulted four Indigenous youths and potentially groomed another 67 Indigenous youths and men.A national inquiry into the Catholic Church and other institutions’ responses to child abuse found that 7% of Australian Catholic priests were accused of sexually abusing children between 1950 and 2010.