OAKLAND (CA)
SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [Chicago IL]
April 23, 2026
A jury awarded a survivor of abuse by Stephen Kiesle, a defrocked Catholic priest of the Oakland (California) diocese, $16 million yesterday.
The abuse occurred in a blue-collar parish called Our Lady of the Rosary in Union City, California. That parish, with an elementary school, hosted at least three other priests accused of abuse, including George Crespin, who supervised Kiesle and was later elevated to be the Vicar General and Chancellor of the Oakland Diocese. Crespin is named in multiple lawsuits.
While no amount of money can ever recapture a lost childhood or make up for a lifetime of trauma, the court system has sent a message that covering up and enabling the sexual assault of children cannot be tolerated.
Kiesle has over 60 cases pending in the Oakland diocese bankruptcy, and dozens of other victims. He isn’t the only bad guy who wore the clerical collar and committed abuse. Oakland has over 100 others accused of abusing 290 other victims in this round of litigation, representing over $5 billion of harm, based on this award.
The Oakland bishop has low-balled, delayed, and stiff-armed victims for the past six years. His paltry $214 million bankruptcy offer is nowhere near enough to compensate for the harm an unbiased jury has recognized. At an average of $600,000 per survivor, that offer is 4% of the value of this jury award. It is pennies on the dollar.
Now that a jury has listened to the evidence and spoken, SNAP is calling on the bishop of Oakland to either dramatically increase his offer, or, to exit bankruptcy and try all 350 cases.
Every single survivor in the Oakland diocese deserves the justice delivered today.
Contact: Dan McNevin, SNAP board, 415 341 6417