Католик сүмийн өндөр албан тушаалтан асан Кристофер Сондерс 10 гаруй жилийн хугацаанд уугуул иргэдийн эсрэг бэлгийн хүчирхийлэл үйлдсэн хэргээр зургаан жил зургаан сарын хорих ял авлаа.
Австралийн Брум дүүргийн католик сүмийг 1996-2021 онд тэргүүлж байсан 76 настай Кристофер Сондерс 2008-2019 оны хооронд хоёр залууг бэлгийн дарамтад оруулсан хэргээр буруутгагдаж, наймдугаар сард шүүхээс 19 хэргээс 13-т нь гэм буруутай гэж тооцогджээ. Шүүх хуралдааны явцад насанд хүрээгүй хүүхдүүдтэй холбоотой зарим нотлох баримт хангалтгүй байсан тул холбогдох хэд хэдэн зүйл ангийг хэрэгсэхгүй болгосон байна.
Ватиканы зүгээс 2022 онд тус ламтны ёс зүйгүй үйлдлийн талаар дотоод мөрдлөг явуулж, дүгнэлтээ Австралийн эрх баригчдад шилжүүлснээр 2024 онд албан ёсны ял сонсжээ. Сүмийн дотоод тайлангаар Сондерс нь дор хаяж дөрвөн хүнийг хүчирхийлж, 67 орчим уугуул иргэнийг бэлгийн дарамтад оруулах замаар өөртөө дасгасан байж болзошгүй гэх ноцтой баримтууд ил болсон байна.
Австралийн Католик шашны лам нарын зөвлөлөөс уг шийдвэрийг дэмжиж, сүмийн удирдагч итгэлцлийг ноцтойгоор зөрчсөнд харамсаж буйгаа илэрхийлжээ. Тус зөвлөлийн тэргүүн, хамба лам Тимоти Костелло хохирогчдоос уучлал гуйж, шүүхийн шийдвэр нь гэмт хэргийн ноцтой байдлыг илэрхийлж байна хэмээн мэдэгдэв.
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Catholic cleric Christopher Saunders preyed on Aboriginal youth for over a decade in a remote diocese
A former Australian Catholic bishop has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for sexually abusing two young indigenous men over the course of a decade.
76-year-old ex-bishop Christopher Saunders is one of the most senior Australian clerics to be convicted in a series of scandals that have shaken the Catholic Church for decades. In August, Saunders was found guilty on 13 out of 19 sexual abuse charges pertaining to two accusers he victimized between 2008 and 2019.
Saunders narrowly dodged a harsher punishment, with all the charges related to his alleged sexual relations with minors flopped in court. Four charges related to the alleged abuse of a child younger than 13 were dropped on the first day of his trial, while he was acquitted of six further charges involving a 16-year-old child.
All the crimes were perpetrated by Saunders when he led the remote Broome Diocese between 1996 and 2021, when he resigned from the position over allegations of sexual misconduct. While the territory of the diocese covers an area larger than France, it has a population of only some 50,000, predominantly indigenous people.
The cleric fell under the Vatican’s crosshairs in 2022, when it launched an internal probe into his predatory behavior. While the report was never made public, the Holy See shared its findings with the Australian authorities the next year, and Saunders was ultimately charged in 2024.
The scale of sexual misconduct by the ex-bishop was likely significantly greater than the crimes he was convicted of. The Church’s internal report was leaked to Australia’s Seven Network and indicated that Saunders likely sexually assaulted at least four and groomed a further 67 indigenous minors and young men.
The sentencing has been welcomed by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, with its president, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, insisting it reflected the gravity of the crimes committed.
“To each victim and survivor who courageously revealed what they had endured, we want to say this: We are sorry for the pain and suffering that was inflicted on you. We are sorry that your trust was so directly and profoundly betrayed by a leader of the Church,” Costelloe said in a statement.
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