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A former Catholic priest who spent time in prison for child molestation and is a registered sex offender was arrested Saturday night after a suspected DUI crash that killed a Rossmoor resident.
Walnut Creek police said Tuesday that 75-year-old Stephen Kiesle was booked early Sunday into the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony DUI. Bail was set at $250,000.
Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jimmy Lee said Kiesle was still in custody Tuesday. According to the California Megan’s Law website, Kiesle is a resident of the Rossmoor retirement community.
Police said they were called about 9 p.m. about a car hitting two pedestrians who were walking on the sidewalk on Tice Creek Drive near Fairlawn Court in Rossmoor. The vehicle was on its side and the male driver, who was also the only occupant, was trapped inside.
Officers found Curtis Gunn at the scene with life-threatening injuries. Paramedics transported him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead Saturday night. His wife suffered minor injuries.
Kiesle, who police said also suffered minor injuries, was extricated from the vehicle by the fire department and later arrested.
According to the website, www.bishop-accountability.org, Kiesle was accused of sexually abusing at least 15 children. He pleaded no contest in 1978 to a misdemeanor charge of lewd conduct for tying up and molesting two boys and received three years’ probation, according to www.bishop-accountability.org.
He left the priesthood in 1981, which didn’t become official until 1987. The website says Kiesle was sentenced to six years in prison in 2004, for sexually abusing a girl in 1995 at his Truckee vacation home. He was released in 2009.
Police said the case is pending review by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. Anyone with information about the case may contact the Walnut Creek Police Department at 925-935-6400.
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