Family Sues Oakland Diocese On Behalf Of Abuse Survivor

The family of deceased abuse survivor Jim Bartko has filed a priest abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Oakland. The lawsuit, filed on Bartko’s behalf, accuses Catholic priest Stephen Kiesle of child sexual abuse. It is among the latest lawsuits filed amidst a decades-long history of priest abuse in the Catholic Church.

In 2020, Bartko filed his own lawsuit during California’s three-year “look back” window. It was dismissed when he died four days later. Now, Bartko’s children are using a new California law, Senate Bill 447 (SB 447), to seek justice on behalf of their father.

Survivor’s Children Sue Oakland Diocese

Bartko’s original lawsuit accused Kiesle of sexually abusing him from 1972 to 1975. At the time, Kiesle was a priest at St. Joseph’s Parish.

The abuse began when Bartko was seven years old. According to the claims, Kiesle molested Bartko and a childhood friend at church sleepovers.

Bartko did not speak publicly about the abuse until 2020. In February of that year, he published a memoir, Boy in the Mirror, detailing his abuse and the lasting trauma it caused. In March, Bartko held a news conference to announce his lawsuit. He died from cirrhosis four days later, and his lawsuit was dismissed.

The new lawsuit accuses the Diocese of Oakland of negligence. According to the lawsuit, the Diocese of Oakland was aware of Kiesle’s history of sexual misconduct involving minors. The lawsuit claims the diocese allowed Kiesle to continue working with children, despite previous abuse allegations.

In 1978, Kiesle was accused of sexually abusing children at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish. Despite this, the diocese allowed him to retain his position while on probation. In 1987, he was laicized. However, he returned to St. Joseph’s as a volunteer youth minister the next year.

In 2004, Kiesle was convicted of child sexual abuse and sentenced to six years in prison. He served five years before his early release in 2009.

Bartko’s family also filed a wrongful death claim related to their father’s abuse. Bartko’s cirrhosis, the cause of his death, came from a decades-long struggle with alcohol abuse. The family attributes the origin of his addiction to when Kiesle used communion wine to make a seven-year-old Bartko more vulnerable.

New California Laws Offer Justice For Survivors & Their Families

SB 447 is one of two main laws expanding the rights of abuse survivors and their families. SB 447 will allow families, such as Bartko’s, to seek compensation for their loved ones’ suffering.

Survivors are also filing lawsuits under California’s three-year “look back” window. The window opened January 1, 2020. It temporarily revives all expired civil claims of child sexual abuse in the state. During this period, any survivor of child sex abuse can file a civil lawsuit.

With these new laws, abuse survivors can hold their abusers and the responsible organizations accountable. Through the legal justice system, many of these survivors and their families will take one step forward towards healing.