NAMPA (ID)
KGAN - CBS 2 [Cedar Rapids IA]
April 29, 2026
By CBS2 News Staff
A former Priest from Nampa was sentenced to spend up to the next 15 years in prison on Wednesday.
Former Nampa Priest Robert Mendez Esquivel was sentenced to 15 years, three years fixed, after he pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a minor. Esquivel served at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Nampa and was arrested in August of last year. Court records show that Esquivel connected with a 16-year-old victim on the Grindr app.
The victim submitted an impact statement, which was read before sentencing. According to court records, the letter described a lasting emotional toll: “I have not attended court because I feel ashamed and embarrassed of what happened,” wrote the victim. “I hope I can come to terms with what happened, but I don’t know if I ever will.”
Court records show that the Victim’s mother also submitted an impact letter, saying in part, “You make me sick…you’re supposed to be a man of God, and here you are molesting my child.”
Esquivel was stripped of his priestly authority by the church last year after news of his arrest broke.