Father George E. Crespin
Ordained: 1962
Assigned as follows:
- 1963: Holy Spirit (Freemont, CA)
- 1964-1966: Cathedral of St. Francis De Sales (Oakland, CA)
- 1967-1971: Corpus Christi (Piedmont, CA)
- 1972-1979: Our Lady of Rosary (Union City, CA)
- 1980-1983: Archivist, 2900 Lakeshore Ave. (Oakland, CA)
- 1982-2006: St. Joseph the Worker (Berkeley, CA)
- 2001: St. Ambrose (Berkeley, CA)
- 2007-2011: Retired, St. Joseph the Worker (Berkeley, CA)
- 2012-2017: Retired, St. Cornelius (Richmond, CA)
- 2018-present: Unknown
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father George E Crespin:
Fr. George E Crespin was a high-ranking diocese official who served as Chancellor and Vicar General of the Diocese of Oakland from 1979 to 1994. According to media reports, in 2005, he was named in a lawsuit in which he was accused of sexually abusing a minor boy from approximately 1974 to 1975, while he was a pastor at Our Lady of Rosary in Union City, California. Crespin denied all charges.
During the trial, Crespin testified that reporting allegations of child sexual abuse to law enforcement were not their practice. When the Diocesan Review Board found insufficient evidence to support the allegations against him, he returned to ministry with his privileges restored as a retired priest. In August 2005, the plaintiff was paid $600,000 as part of a global settlement.
In December 2019, two men filed a lawsuit under the CA Child Victims Act, claiming the cover-up of child sexual abuse by Crespin and Fr. Stephen Kiesle (a serial pedophile) at Our Lady of the Rosary in the 1970s. According to media reports, Crespin's accuser said the abuse began when he was 11 years old, and that the priest also abused his best friend, who died by suicide in 2020.
"I kept this dark secret," he said. "As a child, I lost my faith."
Crespin is currently a priest in residence at St. Cornelius Church in Richmond, CA. Whether he has access to children is unknown.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Oakland. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest or other Catholic clergy in California State, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Oakland now have legal options, 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 Oakland and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.