There's been a development in the court case relating to Australian Bishop Christopher Saunders. The retired cleric was arrested at his home in Broome in northern Western Australia last week, but a temporary suppression order was put in place, that's now been lifted.
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00:00 Bishop Christopher Saunders was arrested on Wednesday last week and charged with a total
00:07 of 26 offences including sexual penetration of an adult without consent and indecent dealings
00:13 with a child, allegations he has always strenuously denied. However, at his first court appearance
00:19 last week, Bishop Saunders successfully applied for a temporary suppression order, with his
00:24 lawyer arguing that media coverage was jeopardising his client's right to a fair trial. But at
00:30 a hearing in Broome today, Magistrate Dean Potter lifted that suppression. He acknowledged
00:35 there were valid concerns about some of the reporting by Channel 7 and the West Australian
00:39 newspaper in particular, but said he was confident there were safeguards in place to ensure that
00:44 justice was served. The ruling means that more details of the prosecution can be reported
00:51 for the first time. The court heard that the sexual assault charges relate to one complainant,
00:58 a man who was aged 16 or 17 when the alleged offending began in 2008. There are also a
01:04 total of six firearms charges relating to possessing a gun without a licence and inadequate
01:10 storage of a firearm. Bishop Saunders' lawyer Seamus Rafferty has already told the court
01:16 that his client intends to plead not guilty to all charges. Bishop Saunders is due back
01:21 before the Broome Magistrates Court on June 17.
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