Texas Jury Convicts Priest Anthony Odiong on 3 Sexual Assault Counts, Exposing Years of Clergy Abuse
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 29
Texas Jury Convicts Priest Anthony Odiong on 3 Sexual Assault Counts, Exposing Years of Clergy Abuse
6 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 29
A Waco jury convicted Anthony Odiong, 57, on one first-degree and two second-degree sexual assault counts tied to two women he counseled spiritually, after about two hours of deliberation.
Texas law treats sex obtained by clergy through spiritual authority as felony sexual assault, and prosecutors argued Odiong used faith as his weapon in a deliberate pattern rather than consensual relationships.
Mary Doe and Jane Doe testified Odiong pursued sexual conduct while guiding them through abusive or unstable marriages; jurors also heard DNA evidence showed he fathered a child in 2023 with another woman he directed spiritually in Louisiana.
A first-degree charge involving a third woman was dropped after she did not appear because prosecutors said she was in an extremely fragile emotional state; sentencing begins Monday, with the top count carrying a possible life term.
The case grew out of a February 2024 Guardian report and renewed scrutiny of Catholic handling of abuse allegations, after church officials had suspended Odiong from ministry years before publicly disclosing it.
Will church leaders who transferred the priest face charges for enabling years of abuse after being warned of his misconduct?
He called it 'dating,' the jury called it assault. Where does the law draw the line for consent with religious leaders?