Catholic priest indicted on s*xual ass*ult charges in U.S.

A Nigerian Catholic priest was charged with felony s*xual ass*ult in Texas, United States of America, following allegations from multiple victims of s*xual and financial abuse, as reported by The New York Times on September 15, 2024.

Odiong was charged with two counts of second-degree s*xual ass*ult and one count of first-degree s*xual ass*ult by a grand jury in McLennan County, Texas, on Thursday.

He was apprehended in July in Ave Maria, Florida, following a discovery of child pornography during an investigation into s*xual ass*ult allegations reported to the police, as reported in a Facebook post by the Waco Police Department.

He was not indicted on possession of child pornography, but could be in the future, Detective Bradley DeLange said.

The police had been investigating Father Odiong for months because they had received “credible information” alleging he committed a s*xual assault in 2012, according to the police.

During the investigation, Detective DeLange said, the police found several women with similar stories of abuse as the original victim who had come forward.

Detective DeLange discovered at least eight women who claim that the priest groped, s*xually assaulted or financially abused them, including one woman who sought Father Odiong’s counsel over her marriage troubles.

Under Texas Law, it is considered s*xual ass*ult if members of the clergy engages in sexual activity with individuals who depend on them emotionally as “spiritual advisers.”

Father Odiong served as a priest at St. Peter Catholic Student Center in Waco, Texas, and at St. Mary’s Church of the Assumption in West, Texas, from 2007 to 2012, according to the police, and he also served in Luling, La., from around 2015 to 2023.

He was brought to McLennan County Jail on Aug. 6 and is being held on a $2.5 million bond, according to jail documents.

If convicted on the second-degree s*xual assault charges, he could face up to 20 years in prison. Additionally, his first-degree felony charge could result in a life sentence. Christopher King, representing several individuals in a separate civil case against the priest, has outlined these potential penalties.

The Guardian detailed the allegations in February, which Father Odiong refuted in a Facebook post in April, labeling the accusations as “false, salacious, and one-sided smear campaigns.”

Archbishop Gregory Aymond, the Diocese of Austin, Texas, during the beginning of Father Odiong’s time as a priest at that diocese, and he now leads the Archdiocese of New Orleans, where Father Odiong served in recent years.

Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, the current leader of the Diocese of Austin, said in a statement in July that the diocese would fully cooperate with law enforcement.

Sarah McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, said on Sunday that Father Odiong had served there at the request of the Diocese of Uyo in Nigeria.

“When the archdiocese became aware of allegations of criminal activity we reported him to law enforcement and removed him from ministry,” Ms. McDonald said in a text.