Notorious pedophile priest sentenced for killing man while driving drunk in Walnut Creek

OAKLAND (CA)
NBC News [San Francisco, CA]

December 8, 2023

By Candice Nguyen

Stephen Kiesle changed his plea to no contest and surrendered to law enforcement Friday.

A notorious former East Bay priest who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of kids is back in jail, but not for the abuse cases.

Stephen Kiesle appeared in Contra Costa County court Friday to change his plea to no contest for driving drunk and killing his Rossmoor Walnut Creek neighbor. Kiesle was sentenced to six years and eight months in state prison.

Last year, prosecutors said Kiesle was drunk when he ran over and killed Curtis Gunn, who was walking with his wife on a sidewalk in Rossmoor.

In court, Gunn’s wife gave a tearful victim impact statement saying “Kiesle made a choice to drink that night. Today he has chosen his prison term.”

Kiesle previously served time for sexually abusing a young girl while he was a priest. He is also named in dozens of new child sex abuse lawsuits that NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has been digging into over the past three years.

Both Kiesle and his attorney declined to comment when asked about his sentencing and the new lawsuits.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/stephen-kiesle-priest-pedophile-drunk-driving-walnut-creek/3393076/