Christopher Alan Saunders faced six new charges at Broome Magistrates Court on Monday, with the former Bishop of Broome now facing a combined total of 39 offences relating to alleged child sex abuse, firearms and assault.
Mr Saunders, 73, pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecent dealing with a child under 13, two common assault charges and one charge of sexually penetrating a child under 13.
It is alleged all the offences took place at the remote community at Kalumburu between 2009 and 2010.
Police allege Mr Saunders indecently assaulted a boy.
The sexual offences were committed to Broome District Court on June 24. The assault charges will return to the Magistrates Court on June 30.
Mr Saunders’ bail was continued.
In December, Mr Saunders entered a not guilty plea to 16 charges of indecent assault, three counts of a person in authority indecently dealing with a child, and two counts of sexual penetration without consent.
He also denied an additional 17 charges of indecent assault, three counts of a person in authority indecently dealing with a child and two counts of sexual penetration without consent in October 2024.
Mr Saunders is due to appear in Broome District Court for those matters on April 22, 2025.
Since the acquittal of Cardinal George Pell in the High Court in 2020, Bishop Saunders has become the highest-ranked Catholic in the country to face a sex crimes prosecution.
Mr Saunders was ordained as a priest in 1976 and moved full-time to the Kimberley region before becoming a bishop in 1996.
He resigned from his position in Broome in August 2021.
In December 2023, more than 1200 rounds of ammunition and a shotgun were allegedly found in Mr Saunders’ Broome home.
Mr Saunders was first arrested in February 2024, after an investigation ordered by the pope found he likely sexually assaulted four youths, while potentially grooming another 67 over 50 years.
The bombshell 200-page report also found that Bishop Saunders spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in church and charity funds to groom the young men.
A 7NEWS investigation exclusively obtained a copy of the final report that has been handed to the Vatican for action by Pope Francis.
The first official rape complaint against Saunders in 2018 was investigated by police and the church.
No charges were laid at the time.
Pope Francis also ordered a papal investigation, the first in Australia, which also did not lead to charges.
https://thewest.com.au/news/broome-advertiser/former-bishop-of-broome-christopher-saunders-pleads-not-guilty-to-new-charges-of-child-sex-abuse–c-18068773
