Jury in Waco, Texas, convicts priest Anthony Odiong of sexual assault

Police in Waco, Texas, arrested Father Anthony Odiong in July after child pornography was discovered during an investigation into sexual assault allegations, according to a report by mysanantonio.com. The Waco Police Department confirmed the arrest and said eight alleged victims had been identified to that point. Indictments issued the following week included three counts of sexual assault and additional charges of child pornography possession. Detective Bradley Delnage of the Waco Police Department urged anyone with information to contact him.

A woman referred to as Hadassah Doe said that Odiong met her in 2007, while he was studying for a theological master’s degree. She told the Guardian that he positioned himself as her spiritual counselor and initiated a years-long physical relationship. She said he manipulated her into performing sexual acts during confession and private masses, claiming that doing so ensured her salvation. Hadassah Doe later said she hoped a conviction would keep him from harming others.

A February 2024 Guardian article detailed allegations of sexual coercion and abuse by the priest, and the case emerged from that reporting, according to a later Guardian report. Protecting people who are vulnerable to spiritual authority is a matter of basic accountability in the church (Proverbs 31:8-9).

A jury in Waco convicted Odiong, 57, after a four-day trial. Reports differ on the specific counts. One Guardian report says the jury found him guilty of one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault, involving two women during his tenure as a clergyman. Another Guardian report describes the verdict as a conviction of criminal clergy sexual assault. The verdict in each case is a conviction by jury, and the accusations underlying the other charges were not part of the verdict described.

Odiong had also initially faced charges related to a third woman. Prosecutors dismissed that case after the accuser failed to appear in court. The dismissal did not produce a verdict on those allegations.

One Guardian report states that Odiong was sentenced to life imprisonment. The other reports in this series do not describe a sentence. The same report says prosecutors stated that Odiong, who had taken vows of celibacy, fathered a child with a Louisiana parishioner. The child, born in 2023, was left without the support of a biological father, and investigators noted during their examination of the case that the child was not provided with a car seat.