Child sex abuse team returns to Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders’ house as Premier Roger Cook weighs in

The former home of a Broome bishop who was at the centre of a damning child sex abuse investigation ordered by Pope Francis is being searched by detectives for the second time in a month. The Piggott Way property, where former Catholic bishop Christopher Saunders lived, was seen surrounded by detectives and their equipment Thursday morning before WA Premier Roger Cook confirmed their presence. “The sexual assault teams in the police are obviously investigating some very grievous allegations,” he said. “We’re really pleased that they are providing resources to get on top of that situation. “The fact that they’re back there today just demonstrates how seriously they take it.” A police spokesperson said child abuse squad detectives were in Broome “as part of an ongoing investigation into historic child sex offences”. “Child abuse squad detectives remain in the Kimberley conducting further inquiries,” the spokesperson said. A top-secret investigation ordered by the Pope into the West Australian bishop in September 2022 — the first of its kind in Australian history — contained several sexual misconduct allegations. A 7NEWS investigation exclusively obtained a copy of the final report that was handed to the Vatican for action by Pope Francis. The bombshell 200-page report levelled a number of grooming allegations at the bishop. Emeritus bishop Saunders has always denied any wrongdoing. In 2020, Bishop Saunders voluntarily stood down after 7NEWS exposed a report revealing he had been at the centre of an 18-month investigation by WA Police codenamed Operation White Plane. But by May 2021 police and prosecutors did not press charges claiming “insufficient evidence”. He has reportedly not been living at the Kimberley home since late last year following coverage of the Catholic Church investigation. Emeritus bishop Saunders had been working in the Broome diocese for almost 50 years. In September, it was reported WA Police called on church authorities to hand over the Vatican report. It’s the second time in less than a month that detectives have been seen scouring the property. Police Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed no charges were laid against emeritus bishop Saunders after he was questioned by police in Perth on January 15 and his former home in Broome was also searched by detectives. At the time of the first search, Mr Blanch said police were working on “new information” and working to verify claims within the report. He said police would investigate until a decision was made about whether there was enough evidence to lay charges. “You need to reach a certain threshold to charge. And we haven’t reached that threshold yet,” Mr Blanch said on January 15. “We will use any and all resources we need to, certainly up in the Kimberley it’s a different place sometimes to operate, so we do use local resources and if we need forensics or other specialist units they will be involved.”