Father Donald Kimball
Diocese of Santa Rosa
Ordained: 1969
Laicized: 2000
Died: 2006
Assignment History:
- 1970-1973: Sacred Heart (Eureka, CA)
- 1974-1976: St. Bernard’s (Eureka, CA)
- 1977-1979: Resurrection (Santa Rosa, CA)
- 1980-1981: St. John the Baptist (Healdsburg, CA)
- 1982-1986: Absent on Leave, Location Unknown
- 1987: Unknown, not listed
- 1988-1989: Cathedral of St. Eugene Church (Santa Rosa, CA)
- 1990: On Duty Outside Diocese
- 1990: Cathedral of St. Eugene Church (Santa Rosa, CA)
- 1990: CA Cornerstone Media Inc. (Santa Rosa, CA)
- 1991-2006: Unknown
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Donald Kimball:
Father Donald Kimball was ordained a priest in 1969 and served in the Diocese of Santa Rosa. According to media reports, Kimball has been accused by at least 11 men and women of childhood sexual abuse. One victim alleges abuse by Fr. Kimball that occurred in 1981 at St. John the Baptist in Healdsburg, CA. Allegations of child sexual abuse by Fr. Kimball also occurred in approximately 1977 when Fr. Kimball was assigned at Resurrection in Santa Rosa. One of Fr. Kimball’s victims allegedly became pregnant, and he drove her to get an abortion. In 1990, he was accused of coercing teenage girls to have sex with him. During a meeting with Bishop Steinbock, Fr. Kimball admitted that he had engaged in sexually inappropriate conduct with six young women, all minors, and two of which were teens under his supervision. Church officials suspended him from performing priestly duties.
In 1997, more allegations against Fr. Kimball surfaced. Criminal charges were filed in 2000, the same year he was laicized. In a 2002 trial, the priest was acquitted of raping a 14-year-old girl in 1977 when assigned at Resurrection in Santa Rosa but convicted of molesting a 13-year-old girl in 1981 at St. John the Baptist in Healdsburg, CA. Fr. Kimball was sentenced to seven years in prison for each of his two counts of lewd conduct with a minor. Fr. Kimball has been named in at least two civil lawsuits alleging childhood sexual abuse. The conviction was overturned in 2003 after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law extending the statute of limitations for sex crimes involving children. The two alleged victims each received about $120,000 after the church settled their civil suits against him.
Fr. Kimball died in 2006 at the age of 62. His name is listed on the Diocese of Santa Rosa’s 2019 list of Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Santa Rosa in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Santa Rosa now have legal options due to a voluntary compensation fund created by the Diocese of Santa Rosa, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in California and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.