Christopher Allen Saunders charged with child sex crimes in Australia
Archbishop Christopher Allen Saunders, one of the most senior Catholic Church officials in Australia, has been charged with sexual offences against children.
Australian police have charged Christopher Saunders with 14 counts of sexual assault. He was arrested on charges of sexual assault after a detailed investigation by the Australian Church. Christopher, 74, is due to appear in court on Thursday, February 29, charged with three counts of indecent assault on children and persons aged 16 to 18.
The initial police investigation found no evidence against Archbishop Saunders, but the church, with special powers granted by Pope Francis, succeeded in proving his crimes in 2022. The church's confidential findings were given to the police, after which the police resumed their investigation.
The documents show that Saunders' crimes occurred between 2008 and 2014. He served as Bishop of Broome, a vast coastal region in northwestern Australia, for more than 20 years. He resigned from the episcopal see in 2020 when allegations of sexual abuse first emerged in local media, but retained the honorary title of Bishop Emeritus.
It is worth noting that in 2019, Australian Cardinal George Paul, a Vatican agent, was also imprisoned on charges of sexual abuse, but his conviction was overturned a year later. The sexual abuse case brought by Archbishop Saunders shows that this is not the first time that a senior figure in the Australian church has been accused of sexual crimes.
