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The defence lawyer for the former Bishop of Broome has launched a scathing attack on the credibility of a man who accused the senior Catholic cleric of abusing him from when he was just 16 years old.
The former Bishop of Broome is on trial in WA’s District Court for allegedly sexually abusing three young Aboriginal men between 2008 and 2017. One of the men was alleged to have been underage at the time the abuse began, and carried on until he was eventually jailed.
Saunders has pleaded not guilty to all 26 of the charges and it is currently day three of his trial, which is set down for three weeks.
Prosecutor Adam Ebell said the three victims said they were part of a cohort of young Aboriginal men who would regularly spend time at Bishop Saunders’ Catholic-owned properties, where he would hold parties and order them to strip off their shorts and change in to boxers he would provide. He would provide alcohol, cigarettes and food, and Ebell said much of his conduct was in direct contrast with the oath he made when he became a priest in the 1970s.
Defence lawyer Tony Hager said the incidents of abuse simply “did not happen”, and the men each had motivations to lie or had issues with their memories due to prolonged alcohol abuse. He said the bishop’s method of pastoral care may have been “unorthodox”, but he was not on trial for that behaviour.
The first complainant began providing evidence on Wednesday, and detailed instances of abuse the bishop allegedly committed from when he was underage.
He claimed the bishop would offer him alcohol when he was just 16-years-old and supply him with cigarettes. The boy continued to drink heavily into his adulthood, and it was a point defence lawyer Tony Hager seized on during cross-examination on Thursday.
Hager probed the now 34-year-old man’s alcohol abuse, pointing out his memory had been impacted by constant drinking since he was young. He also said the man had a historical conviction from drinking in the dry community of Kalumburu while he was underage.
The court previously heard Saunders would package up alcohol he purchased on the church’s dime, put it in hessian bags with the help of other court staff and smuggle it into the far northern Aboriginal community.
The man conceded at times he would start drinking at around six or seven in the morning, and had never held down a steady job. He would often rely on the bishop for money, clothes and food. He otherwise relied on Centrelink.
He also agreed he had steady lapses in his memory from a young age due to prolonged drinking, and was unable to answer a number of questions Hager put to him about how old he was when certain incidents were alleged to have occurred. However, he continued to maintain he was underage when he claimed some of the abuse took place.
“Thinking back now … to when you were 16 or 17, is it hard to remember conversations with Brother B?” Hager asked, referring to the nickname a number of young Aboriginal men had given the bishop prior to his arrest.
“Yes, there was a lot going around at that time,” the man said.
“There was a lot going on in your life?” Hager continued.
“Yes. It was tough.”
However, when asked by Hager if it was therefore difficult to remember what “Brother B” had physically done to him, he responded: “I remember.”
The man’s cross examination is set to continue throughout Friday, before two more complainants give their evidence next week. They will be followed by evidence from Saunders’ former coworkers and the Bishop of Geraldton Michael Morrissey, who took over from the bishop once he resigned from his Broome post in 2021.
The trial continues.
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