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Media28 outlets ran this5 min read

Christopher Saunders convicted of 13 sex offences against Aboriginal men in Australia

Former Bishop of Broome found guilty of sexual penetration without consent and indecent assaults between 2010 and 2019

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Camera IconRetired bishop Christopher Saunders has been found guilty of abusing two young Indigenous men. (Paul Miller/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP

What this story says

  • Christopher Saunders, 76, was convicted of 13 sex offences, including sexual penetration without consent, against two young Aboriginal men in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
  • The offences occurred between 2010 and 2019 while Saunders served as Bishop of Broome, a role he resigned from in 2020 after abuse allegations became public.
  • Saunders was acquitted of six other charges, including two counts of indecently dealing with a child over 16 under his authority.
  • The victims were young Aboriginal men, and the assaults took place at church-owned properties, including Saunders’ residence and a beach house.

Who covered it

Left 60%(15)Centre 24%(6)Right 16%(4)

Percentages are shares of the 25 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 3 of the 28 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

88/100

Craft

85/100

Hype

15/100

28 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 4 of the 25 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, was convicted on 20 August 2026 of 13 sex offences by a jury in the West Australian District Court. The charges included one count of sexual penetration without consent and 12 counts of unlawful and indecent assault. The offences occurred between 2010 and 2019, while Saunders served as Bishop of Broome, a diocese covering a region three times the size of England.

Saunders was acquitted of six other charges, including two counts of indecently dealing with a child over 16 under his authority. The victims were young Aboriginal men from the Kimberley region, where Indigenous people make up over 40% of the population. The assaults took place at various locations, including Saunders’ church-owned residence in Broome and a retreat known as the beach house.

Saunders resigned as Bishop of Broome in 2020 after abuse allegations surfaced. Pope Francis accepted his resignation in 2021. Saunders was taken into custody immediately after the verdict and will face sentencing on 21 September 2026. He did not apply for bail.

Disagreements in the reports

The reports disagree on the number of charges Saunders initially faced. PerthNow and the Sydney Morning Herald group (The Age, Brisbane Times, WA Today) reported that Saunders was initially committed to trial on 26 charges. ABC Australia reported that he was initially on trial for 30 charges, with four charges related to a child under 13 discontinued on the first day of proceedings.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mentioned the power imbalance between Saunders and his victims, the prosecution’s argument that Saunders exploited this imbalance, or the apology issued by the Bishop of Broome. The centre-rated digests also omitted the apology from Bishop Tim Norton. The left-rated digests did not include the detail from PerthNow’s full report that Saunders’ lawyer argued the complainants’ memories may have been affected by alcohol and drug use.

“I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the complainants and the many witnesses in this case who showed tremendous courage in coming forward, engaging with police and taking part in the investigative process and ultimately the prosecution.”

— Detective Andrew Broadley, Western Australia Police
Tags:#ClergyAbuse#IndigenousRights#CatholicChurch#SexualAssault#AustraliaCourts

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 13 Aug 2026, 13:45, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders has been found guilty of sexual offences. (ABC News: David Weber)
ABC AustraliaLeft

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

15 rated outlets

  • The left-rated digests and full reports led on the conviction of Saunders and the nature of the offences. ABC Australia and the Sydney Morning Herald group highlighted the vulnerability of the victims, describing them as young Aboriginal men in the Kimberley region. ABC Australia’s full report quoted Detective Andrew Broadley, who acknowledged the "tremendous courage" of the complainants and witnesses.
  • ABC Australia and PerthNow’s full reports both detailed the prosecution’s argument that Saunders exploited a power imbalance, with prosecutor Adam Ebell stating Saunders had a "sexual interest in young Aboriginal men and a tendency to act on that interest." ABC Australia also quoted the Bishop of Broome, Tim Norton, who apologised to victims, saying the diocese was "deeply sorry for the hurt they have experienced."

Centre

6 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated digests led on the conviction and the broader context of Saunders’ role in the Catholic Church. PerthNow’s full report described Saunders as a "former high-ranking Catholic known for hosting boozy shirts-off parties" and noted that he would be the highest-ranking Catholic in Australia convicted of sexual abuse while a member of the clergy, unless acquitted on appeal. The report also quoted Saunders’ solicitor, David Manera, who said his client was "deeply affected" by the verdict.
  • PerthNow’s report included details of Saunders’ defence, quoting lawyer Tony Hager, who argued that Saunders was not on trial for hosting parties or using church funds to buy alcohol. The report also noted that Saunders denied the sexual assaults took place, with his lawyer attacking the credibility of the complainants, who had criminal records and histories of alcohol and drug abuse.

Right

4 rated outlets

  • The right-rated digests led on the conviction itself, with minimal additional context. The Batesville Daily Guard’s digest stated that Saunders was convicted of sexually abusing two young Indigenous men but did not mention the broader circumstances of the offences or the victims’ backgrounds. The West Australian’s digest noted that the jury deliberated for almost seven hours but did not provide further detail on the trial or the offences.

Read it at the source

28 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

15
Show 7 more

Centre

6

Right

4

Not rated

3

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Christopher Saunders convicted of 13 sex offences against Aboriginal…?
Of the 25 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 60% are rated left, 24% are rated centre, 16% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 28. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Christopher Saunders convicted of 13 sex offences against Aboriginal… left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 25 rated outlets on this story, 60% are rated left, 24% are rated centre, 16% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Christopher Saunders convicted of 13 sex offences against Aboriginal… biased?
Christopher Saunders convicted of 13 sex offences against Aboriginal men in Australia is one event reported by 28 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Christopher Saunders convicted of 13 sex offences against Aboriginal…?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Christopher Saunders convicted of 13 sex offences against Aboriginal…?
28 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What was Christopher Saunders convicted of?
Christopher Saunders was convicted of 13 sex offences, including one count of sexual penetration without consent and 12 counts of unlawful and indecent assault. The offences occurred between 2010 and 2019 against two young Aboriginal men in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
What role did Christopher Saunders hold in the Catholic Church?
Christopher Saunders served as the Bishop of Broome from 1996 until his resignation in 2020. His resignation was accepted by Pope Francis in 2021 after allegations of sexual abuse became public. Broome is a diocese covering a remote area three times the size of England.
What did the prosecution argue in Christopher Saunders’ trial?
The prosecution argued that Saunders had a sexual interest in young Aboriginal men and exploited the power imbalance between himself and the victims. Prosecutor Adam Ebell stated that Saunders had a "tendency to act on that interest when the opportunity presented itself."
What happens next for Christopher Saunders?
Christopher Saunders was remanded in custody after his conviction and will face sentencing on 21 September 2026. He did not apply for bail. His lawyer, David Manera, said Saunders was "deeply affected" by the verdict but did not discuss the possibility of an appeal.

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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