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A child is pictured drawing during a therapy session in this file photo. The Catholic Church in the U.S. has made progress over the past two decades in confronting sexual abuse against minors within the church, but has only begun to address the vulnerability of adults to sexual abuse by clergy, religious and lay leaders, experts told OSV News in recent interviews. (OSV News photo\/Dylan Martinez, Reuters)<\/p>\n
With the accused priest\u2019s assignments and travels spanning several U.S. dioceses, as well as his home diocese in Nigeria, the matter also underscores the difficulties of tracking and investigating clergy abuse across episcopal jurisdictions under the U.S. Church\u2019s current framework.<\/p>\n
The priest was not charged with crimes connected to fathering at least two minor children<\/a>; however, prosecutors sought to show his alleged sexual advances as a member of the clergy \u2014 a felony in Texas \u2014 demonstrated a pattern of targeting vulnerable women.<\/p>\n Father Odiong had entered a plea of not guilty on May 27. He had been in prison since 2024 in lieu of a $5.5 million bond, after rejecting a proposed 20-year plea deal in December of that year.<\/p>\n Prosecutors consolidated 3 separate indictments\u00a0<\/p>\n In April, Judge Thomas West allowed prosecutors to consolidate three separate indictments \u2014 which represented seven charges brought by three victims \u2014 into one trial.<\/p>\n The Diocese of Austin, Texas, in which Waco is located, declined to comment to OSV News earlier on May 29, saying the trial was \u201cnow underway.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the diocese confirmed that Father Odiong is incardinated in the Diocese of Uyo \u2014 where he was ordained in 1993 \u2014 and referred OSV News to that diocese \u201cfor any clarification about his clerical status.\u201d OSV News is awaiting a response to a request placed with the Diocese of Uyo for such clarification.<\/p>\n The Diocese of Austin said that the priest \u201cis present in the geographical boundaries of the Diocese and is residing in detention in Waco,\u201d adding that \u201che does not have permission from the Diocese of Austin to engage in priestly ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to a separate request from OSV News, before the verdict was issued, the Diocese of Austin declined to provide a full timeline of Father Odiong\u2019s diocesan pastoral assignments, which included duties at St. Peter Catholic Student Center at Baylor University in Waco.<\/p>\n \u2018Mary Doe\u2019 one of the witnesses at priest\u2019s trial<\/p>\n According<\/a> to The Guardian, one of the witnesses in the priest\u2019s trial, an adult female named only as \u201cMary Doe,\u201d testified May 27 that Father Odiong had preyed on her sexually after she met him in 2008 until 2011. She was going through a divorce after an abusive marriage while raising her seven children under 12. According to her testimony, the priest had offered to be her spiritual adviser after he saw her weeping during Mass at the center, which she attended while working at the university. She testified that she entered into spiritual direction under him at his urging, but in the ensuing weeks, Father Odiong began to sexualize the relationship which escalated eventually into intercourse.\u00a0<\/p>\n She told the court their sexual encounters \u2014 discovered by at least one of her children in 2011 \u2014 took place at her home as well as at the center, with Father Odiong\u2019s office and the confessional among the locations.<\/p>\n In November 2024, Bishop Joe S. V\u00e1squez, then bishop of Austin and now archbishop of Galveston-Houston, said<\/a> he was \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d as news of the allegations emerged about Father Odiong.<\/p>\n Noting that the priest was from the Diocese of Uyo and had previously served in Austin, Bishop V\u00e1squez said at the time that he remained \u201ccommitted to cooperating with and supporting law enforcement in their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n Criminal proceedings initiated in March 2024<\/p>\n Criminal proceedings against Father Odiong, initiated by a victim contacting Waco police in March 2024, developed after Vargas and The Guardian began extensively investigating complaints he had preyed on<\/a> vulnerable women who were under his pastoral care and spiritual direction.<\/p>\n In December 2023, The Guardian \u2014 as part of its long-running coverage of abuse allegations in the Archdiocese of New Orleans \u2014 highlighted<\/a> the priest\u2019s dismissal as pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Luling, Louisiana, about 25 miles from New Orleans. A sexual relationship with a parishioner under his spiritual direction there resulted in the birth of a child in 2023.<\/p>\n DNA evidence presented in court May 28 confirmed<\/a> the paternity of the child. Previously, The Guardian reported that another minor child by the priest was believed<\/a> to be living in Nigeria.<\/p>\n In a December 2023 article for The Guardian, Vargas noted that Father Odiong had been allowed to minister in the Diocese of Austin in 2006, led at the time by then-Bishop Gregory M. Aymond, who was appointed archbishop of New Orleans in 2009. (Archbishop Aymond\u2019s canonically required retirement was accepted<\/a> in 2026, with Archbishop James F. Checchio, who had been appointed<\/a> coadjutor in 2025, succeeding him.)<\/p>\n Priest arrived in New Orleans Archdiocese in 2015<\/p>\n In a May 29 statement provided to OSV News shortly after the trial verdict was announced, the Archdiocese of New Orleans confirmed the priest arrived in that archdiocese \u201cin 2015 at the request of the Bishop of Uyo in Nigeria as he continued the studies he began in Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Bishop of Austin, Archbishop Aymond received no complaints against Odiong. Upon vetting his suitability for ministry in this archdiocese, no issues were reported,\u201d said the Archdiocese of New Orleans. \u201cHe was named pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Luling, LA, where he served until his removal in 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the archdiocese added, \u201ca review of the Archdiocese of New Orleans\u2019s records regarding Anthony Odiong show that the concerns reported from the Diocese of Austin involved adults.\u201d<\/p>\n The archdiocese said it had been \u201calerted to the allegation that had already been recanted to the Diocese of Austin and additional concerns about imprudent behaviors with adults. At that time, archdiocesan officials chose to address the report directly with Odiong.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, the archdiocese said, \u201cTo date, we have received no complaints involving minors.\u201d<\/p>\n First learned of allegation from coverage of Texas trial<\/p>\n The statement said that \u201carchdiocesan officials first learned of the allegation he fathered a child through media coverage of his criminal trial in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n The Archdiocese of New Orleans said its \u201crecords from the time period show Odiong was removed from ministry in 2023 following a series of inflammatory comments made from the altar and additional information reported to the archdiocese.\u201d<\/p>\n The statement continued, \u201cAt that time, as this additional information came to light, the archdiocese made a report to law enforcement who had already investigated the allegation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cArchbishop Checchio and the Archdiocese of New Orleans are disgusted by the behavior revealed in this trial,\u201d said the archdiocese. \u201cOur prayers are with those who have been hurt by his actions.\u201d<\/p>\n Father Odiong was suspended from serving in the Diocese of Austin by no later than 2019, according<\/a> to The Guardian.<\/p>\n Returned to Texas in late 2023 or early 2024\u00a0<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s reporting<\/a> also stated that sometime in late 2023 or early 2024, Father Odiong had returned to Birome, Texas, just outside the Austin Diocese, to rally support for his \u201cplan to run chapels at a Catholic university in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n He was arrested in July 2024 for posession of child pornography, and as a fugitive from sexual assault charges in Texas, while living near Ave Maria University in Florida. U.S. marshals returned him to Texas to face charges.<\/p>\n Father Odiong, according to The Guardian<\/a>, is a naturalized U.S. citizen and has argued that he cannot be returned to Nigeria. He has also pointed to violence against Christians in that nation as another obstacle to his return.<\/p>\n The Guardian reported<\/a> that the priest, when he was arrested, rallied<\/a> some supporters around him by claiming that it was his preaching against same-sex attraction and transgender interventions that drew the ire of Church officials, leading to his removal from pastoral assignments.<\/p>\n Sentencing is expected to take place June 1, according to local media.<\/p>\n Gina Christian<\/a> is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina<\/a>.<\/p>\n SIDEBAR: Expansion of Church\u2019s safe environment protections to adults a far from complete process<\/p>\n The expansion of the Catholic Church\u2019s safe environment protections \u2014 which in the U.S. were first implemented in 2002 for children and young people \u2014 to adults remains a far from complete process, experts previously<\/a> told OSV News.<\/p>\n Pope Francis\u2019 motu proprio \u201cVos Estis Lux Mundi\u201d (\u201cYou are the light of the world\u201d)<\/a> included the term \u201cvulnerable person,\u201d later updated to \u201cvulnerable adults,\u201d defined as \u201cany person in a state of infirmity, physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal liberty which, in fact, even occasionally, limits their ability to understand or to want or otherwise resist the offense.\u201d<\/p>\n But many Church jurisdictions have yet to adopt the clear standard<\/a> set by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, a key figure in the Church\u2019s fight against clergy sexual abuse, for the Maltese Ecclesiastical Province. The archbishop of Malta also is adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.<\/p>\n Those 2014 directives make clear that sexual contact or sexualized behavior between a \u201cpastoral functionary\u201d \u2014 including any bishop, cleric, religious or layperson \u2014 and adults in a pastoral relationship \u201cis considered to be always abusive, whether with or without consent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Those directives recognize the clergy are responsible for maintaining boundaries in their pastoral relationships, and prohibit a defense alleging the sexual relationship was consensual.<\/p>\n But states are moving ahead with this insight to tackle it through the criminal code. Texas is among 15 other U.S. states and the District of Columbia \u2014 most recently joined by Georgia<\/a> \u2014 with laws<\/a> on the books that criminalize clergy sexual conduct with adults under their spiritual or pastoral care whom they are not married to. They are similar to laws prohibiting therapists and counselors from engaging in sex with their patients, who are presumed to not be able to consent to such encounters.<\/p>\n While these laws are \u201ca positive and important step\u201d toward enhanced accountability and protection, \u201clegislation alone cannot address the full depth of the harm survivors experience, nor fully repair the wounds already caused,\u201d said Rebecca Dodge, survivor support and engagement coordinator for Awake, an independent, Milwaukee-based Catholic nonprofit that provides survivor support and advocacy, told OSV News.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must continue listening to survivors, seeking education around abuse dynamics and trauma-informed support, and working toward meaningful institutional reform in order to foster lasting healing and transformation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"56 (OSV News) \u2014\u00a0A Catholic priest from Nigeria has been found guilty by a Texas court of sexually…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-315218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/usethisonetoo20251106T1725-FORMER-DIOCESE-FINANCE-DIRECTOR-ARREST-1807515.jpg\")
A court gavel and block are seen in this illustration photo. (OSV News photo\/Andrew Kelly, Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260513T1800-GEORGIA-CRIMINALIZE-CLERGY-ABUSE-1819758-1024x744.jpg\")
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a news conference at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta March 20, 2026. Kemp Kemp signed May 11, 2026, legislation criminalizing clergy sexual abuse \u2014 removing consent as a legal defense in cases involving coercion or abuse of spiritual authority. (OSV News photo\/Alyssa Pointer, Reuters)<\/p>\n