1 week ago
The criminal proceedings of a Roman Catholic leader who ministered successful Texas and south-east Louisiana and was charged pinch illicitly abusing his position arsenic a clergyman to prosecute activity pinch spiritually susceptible female congregants began connected Tuesday pinch assemblage selection.
Anthony Odiong, 57, faces 5 counts of intersexual battle successful nan first grade and 2 specified counts successful nan second-degree successful a authorities courthouse successful Waco, Texas, involving 3 women whom he met while moving there.
He could person a maximum of life imprisonment if he is convicted of immoderate of nan first-degree charges astatine nan extremity of a proceedings that could past a week aliases more.
The charges against Odiong were efficaciously prompted by a February 2024 report from nan Guardian astir women who accused him of intersexual coercion, unwanted rubbing and abusive financial power aft gathering him successful his capacity arsenic a priest.
A female whom nan Guardian did not question and reply subsequently brought a transcript of nan outlet’s communicative connected Odiong to Waco constabulary and reported that he had sexually assaulted her successful 2012. Investigators subsequently identified arsenic galore arsenic 10 women whom Odiong was suspected of sexually preying connected aft gathering them complete nan years while ministering successful Texas arsenic good arsenic nan New Orleans archdiocese.
Prosecutors yet managed to complaint Odiong pinch exploiting 3 women’s “emotional dependency upon him arsenic a belief advisor and engaging successful intersexual behaviour pinch them” because Texas rule classifies that alleged behaviour arsenic a felony. Those women are nan 1 who reported Odiong to Waco police; different whom nan Guardian interviewed successful its piece; and a 3rd whom officers identified done messages recovered during nan ensuing investigation.
Many of those women’s cases, including ones from Louisiana, did not output criminal counts. But Waco prosecutors contend that his having much than 4 accusers allows them to legally complaint Odiong pinch immoderate of his alleged crimes nary matter really overmuch clip had passed from erstwhile they purportedly occurred. He nevertheless based on connected Tuesday that nan authorities waited excessively agelong to record charges against him, opening nan doorway for prosecutors to present hearsay grounds – inadmissible successful astir proceedings settings – astir nan number of accusers he has.
Court records revenge successful beforehand of nan proceedings show prosecutors are fresh to telephone a number of those accusers. They besides are expected to coming grounds establishing that Odiong violated Catholic priests’ committedness to believe intersexual celibacy by fathering astatine slightest 1 kid pinch a female who had been a congregant of his.
That female is not 1 of nan 3 whom Odiong was charged pinch clerically abusing. Still, authorities based on that peculiar kid was surviving impervious that Odiong had a shape of pursuing female congregants.
Authorities initially arrested Odiong successful July 2024 connected allegations of possessing illicit integer images of a disrobed kid that they recovered arsenic they investigated nan title against him prompted by nan Guardian’s reporting. But prosecutors yet ne'er revenge general charges against him involving those images.
Odiong’s attorney, Gerald Villarial, precocious based on successful tribunal that a congregant concerned astir her sick girl had sent nan images to nan clergyman, nan section news outlet KWTX reported. Villarial maintained that nan photos were meant to show nan girl’s tegument irritations and a imaginable rash, and nan parishioner asked Odiong to believe for nan child’s healing, according to nan outlet.
Villarial moved for each grounds derived from Odiong’s apprehension connected those images to beryllium prohibited from being introduced astatine his trial. Yet nan Texas authorities judge presiding complete that case, Thomas West, denied that motion.
West besides denied a abstracted mobility to postpone Odiong’s trial, which started precocious Tuesday greeting pinch nan prosecution and nan defense opening to mobility a excavation of 100 prospective jurors.
After gaining ordination into nan Catholic priesthood successful his autochthonal Nigeria successful 1993, Odiong made a sanction for himself done holding prayers services aft which immoderate attenders reported recovering from important ailments. The naturalized US national transferred to a region including Waco successful 2006 nether nan auspices of nan then-Austin, Texas, bishop Gregory Aymond.
Odiong, among different things, worked successful field ministry astatine Baylor University successful Waco and was nan paster of a religion successful West, Texas. He later evidently spent immoderate clip studying successful Rome; and successful 2015, he began moving wrong nan archdiocese of New Orleans, six years aft Aymond had go archbishop there.
His main domiciled successful nan New Orleans area was to beryllium nan pastor of St Anthony of Padua religion successful Luling, Louisiana. He besides built a treatment chapel adjacent to St Anthony – named Our Lady of Guadalupe – aft reportedly raising $600,000.
No later than 2019, religion officials successful Austin said they suspended Odiong from being capable to curate successful their area complete allegations of misconduct pinch aggregate women. Austin religion officials did not publically denote that but said they notified their counterparts successful New Orleans.
Meanwhile, Aymond waited until December 2023 to likewise suspend Odiong from nan ministry wrong nan New Orleans archdiocese.
The archdiocese astatine nan clip cited misconduct pinch aggregate women without revealing that they had been notified of nan alleged behaviour by diocesan officials successful Austin astatine slightest 4 years earlier. Furthermore, Odiong’s New Orleans suspension came astir nan aforesaid clip he had publically made a drawstring of anti-LGBTQ+ organization remarks to his congregation arsenic world religion leaders were seeking to make nan religion much inclusive.
Waco authorities criminally charged Odiong amid a statement wrong nan Catholic religion complete whether to widen nan meaning of a susceptible big successful nan discourse of clergy maltreatment to encompass those who are nether nan belief authority of priests and past targeted for intersexual interaction by nan clerics.
The religion presently only considers a susceptible big to beryllium anyone who is older than 18 while having “severe, intellectual, developmental aliases psychological disabilities”. Sexual misconduct pinch susceptible adults aliases children is intelligibly defined arsenic clergy maltreatment nether modern Catholic religion policies.
Aymond retired successful February, a mates of months aft nan New Orleans archdiocese and its insurers agreed to salary $305m to maltreatment survivors to settee a bankruptcy protection lawsuit that nan statement revenge amid nan financial fallout of nan world church’s enduring clerical molestation scandal.
James Checchio, nan erstwhile bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey, is Aymond’s successor arsenic New Orleans archbishop.
