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A Nigerian Catholic priest has been indicted in McLennan County, Texas, on felony sexual assault charges, following accusations of sexual and financial abuse from multiple victims, according to court documents and investigative reports cited by The New York Times on September 15, 2024.
Father Odiong was indicted on Thursday on two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of first-degree sexual assault. He was arrested in July in Ave Maria, Florida, after investigators discovered child pornography while probing allegations of sexual assault filed with the local police, according to a statement from the Waco Police Department.
Although he has not yet been indicted for possession of child pornography, Detective Bradley DeLange indicated that further charges could follow.
The investigation into Father Odiong began months earlier after police received “credible information” about a sexual assault he allegedly committed in 2012. Detective DeLange reported that multiple women with similar accounts of abuse came forward during the investigation, revealing patterns of groping, sexual assault, or financial exploitation. Among these was a woman who had sought Father Odiong’s guidance regarding her marital issues.
Under Texas law, engaging in sexual activity with individuals who depend on clergy for emotional support qualifies as sexual assault.
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, as well as in Luling, Louisiana, from approximately 2015 to 2023.
He was taken to McLennan County Jail on August 6 and is currently held on a $2.5 million bond, according to jail records. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for the second-degree charges and potentially life imprisonment for the first-degree felony charge, as noted by Christopher King, an attorney representing several victims in a separate civil suit against him.
In February, The Guardian reported on the allegations, which Father Odiong denied in an April Facebook post, labeling them as a “false, salacious and one-sided smear campaign.”
Archbishop Gregory Aymond, who oversaw the Diocese of Austin, Texas, during Father Odiong’s early years there and now leads the Archdiocese of New Orleans, where Father Odiong served in recent years, has been notified of the situation. Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, the current head of the Diocese of Austin, stated in July that the diocese would fully cooperate with law enforcement.
Sarah McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, confirmed that Father Odiong was in their ministry 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.
