Texas: a Nigerian priest faces life in prison for sexual assaults.

On Friday, May 29, 2024, Anthony Odiong, a 57-year-old Roman Catholic priest of Nigerian origin, was found guilty by a jury in Waco, Texas, on one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault for acts committed against two women under his spiritual guidance. The jury, composed of eight women and four men, deliberated for about two hours before reaching their verdict. District Judge Thomas West ordered him to be placed in custody immediately following the reading of the verdict. The sentencing phase, conducted by the same jury, was set to begin on Monday, June 1. The first-degree charge exposes Odiong to a maximum sentence of life in prison under Texas law. Each of the two second-degree charges carries a prison sentence of two to twenty years.

Odiong, who pleaded not guilty, was accused of using his clerical authority to coerce two women into sexual relationships with him while he provided them with spiritual mentorship during emotionally vulnerable periods. Texas is among a dozen U.S. states that have a specific law that criminalizes any sexual contact initiated by a cleric or spiritual leader in a position of authority over an emotionally dependent adult. The first-degree qualification arises from the fact that the primary victim is a woman whom Odiong was legally barred from “marrying or claiming to marry” under Texas law.

The two victims, referred to by the pseudonyms Mary Doe and Jane Doe, met Odiong while he was serving at the St. Peter Catholic Center in Waco, an institution frequented by students and staff of Baylor University. Mary Doe testified that Odiong began a long-term sexual relationship with her starting in 2008 while she was going through a difficult divorce and raising seven children. Jane Doe stated that she was forced into sexual acts under the guise of spiritual mentorship. The defense argued consent, but failed to convince the jury.

A press investigation triggered the judicial process

The criminal proceedings were directly triggered by an investigation by the British newspaper The Guardian published in February 2024, which detailed accusations of sexual coercion, unwanted physical contact, and financial manipulation made by several women who had known Odiong during his ministry in Texas and Louisiana. Mary Doe herself had submitted the report to the Waco police to report the incidents concerning her. The investigation led to the identification of a second complainant, Jane Doe, and subsequent inquiries provided additional evidence, including DNA evidence establishing that Odiong fathered a child in 2023 with a third woman, identified by the pseudonym Presley Jones, whom he was spiritually mentoring as the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Luling, Louisiana.

This third woman was not included in the Texas indictment because Louisiana does not have a comparable law to that of Texas. A fourth woman, in an emotional state described as “extremely fragile” and “very precarious,” did not appear at the hearing; prosecutors Ryan Calvert and Liz Buice chose not to compel her to testify, abandoning the portion of the indictment concerning her. Expert witnesses indicated to the court that clergy members have a duty to maintain strict professional and spiritual boundaries with those under their pastoral care.

A suspended career since 2019

Born in Nigeria, Odiong was ordained a priest in 1993 before emigrating to the United States, where he obtained American citizenship. He served successively at the St. Peter Catholic Center in Waco, Texas, and then at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Luling, Louisiana, under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of New Orleans led by Cardinal Gregory Aymond. Diocesan authorities suspended him from ministry in 2019 following initial allegations of inappropriate behavior. However, the Archdiocese of New Orleans did not remove Odiong from his position in Luling until December 2023, despite multiple complainants having previously attempted to report him to church authorities and the police.

Odiong was arrested in Florida in July 2024 — initially for possession of child pornography — before being indicted by a Texas grand jury on three counts of sexual assault. One complainant, whose lawyers Chris King and Robert Callahan provided a statement to the KTRE network, stated, “I sought spiritual guidance from Anthony Odiong during one of the darkest phases of my life. Instead of helping me, he exploited my vulnerability and trust.” Her attorneys indicated that she intended to sue Odiong and the church institutions under whose authority he served. The presumption of innocence that protected Odiong until the verdict no longer applies to the charges for which he was found guilty on Friday.