OAKLAND (CA)
Premier Christian News [Crowborough, England]
April 28, 2026
By Nayana Mena
A survivor of clergy sexual abuse who hasn’t been identified publicly has won a major payout, in a case that could have “broad implications for hundreds of similar” claims against the Catholic Church.
His attorney Rick Simons said the verdict left his client “relieved that a 16-year trial has come to an end…” after decades of suffering.
The plaintiff, identified in court as “John Doe”, was awarded $16m after a jury found the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland liable for abuse he said he suffered more than 50 years ago. The case centred on former East Bay priest Stephen Kiesle.
The lawsuit was one of hundreds filed against the diocese, according to Daily Star, many of which had been paused after it filed for bankruptcy three years ago. A judge allowed a small number of cases to move forward, with this becoming the first to reach a verdict.
Simons, part of a legal team representing Catholic clergy abuse cases across northern California, said there were at least 60 cases linked to Kiesle, alongside hundreds more tied to the diocese.
“There are hundreds of kids who either never came forward, who died early, who are living on the streets,” he said.
Simons said jurors had made a statement with the award, “telling all of these institutions… that we’ve had enough and we recognise the depth of harm in a child abuse case”.
Kiesle had been sentenced to six years in prison in 2004 following multiple molestation cases and remained in prison over a separate 2022 vehicular manslaughter conviction.