Former Australian Catholic bishop sentenced for abusing Indigenous men

PERTH, Australia — A former Australian Catholic bishop was sentenced Wednesday to six years and six months in prison for sexually abusing two young Indigenous men.

A District Court of Western Australia state jury convicted Christopher Saunders, 76, in August of 13 out of 19 charges of sexual abuse that occurred between 2008 and 2019 in his sprawling Broome Diocese on the country’s tropical northwest coast.

Saunders will become eligible for parole in February 2031.

Saunders was acquitted of six charges involving a third accuser. He was accused of indecent dealing with a child over the age of 16. The age of consent in Western Australia is 16, but the law raises it to 18 if the older person is in a position of trust, power or responsibility.

Four charges involving a child younger than 13 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 faced the Vatican for years.

Cardinal George Pell was convicted of abusing choirboys, and Archbishop Philip Wilson was convicted of covering up child sex abuse by a priest. But both clerics successfully appealed their…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world