Nigerian Catholic priest indicted on sexual assault charges in U.S.

A Nigerian Catholic priest was indicted in Texas, United States of America on felony sexual assault charges after several victims accused him of s3xual and financial abuse, according to court documents and investigators, The New York Times reported on September 15, 2024

Odiong was indicted on Thursday by a grand jury in McLennan County, Texas, on two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of first-degree sexual assault.

He was arrested in July in Ave Maria, Fla., when investigators found him in possession of child pornography while looking into sexual assault claims reported to the police, according to a Facebook post from the Waco Police Department. 

He was not indicted on possession of child pornography, but could be in the future, Detective Bradley DeLange said.

The police had been investigating Father Odiong for months because they had received “credible information” alleging he committed a sexual assault in 2012, according to the police. 

During the investigation, Detective DeLange said, the police found several women with similar stories of abuse as the original victim who had come forward. 

Detective DeLange discovered at least eight women who claim that the priest groped, sexually assaulted or financially abused them, including one woman who sought Father Odiong’s counsel over her marriage troubles.

Under Texas Law, it is considered s3xual assault if members of the clergy engages in sexual activity with individuals who depend on them emotionally as “spiritual advisers.”

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, according to the police, and he also served in Luling, La., from around 2015 to 2023.

He was brought to McLennan County Jail on Aug. 6 and is being held on a $2.5 million bond, according to jail documents.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the second-degree sexual assault charges and could get life in prison for his first-degree felony charge, according to Christopher King, a lawyer representing several people in a separate civil case against the priest.

The Guardian reported in February on the allegations, which Father Odiong denied in April in a Facebook post that called them a “false, salacious and one-sided smear campaign.”

Archbishop Gregory Aymond, the Diocese of Austin, Texas, during the beginning of Father Odiong’s time as a priest at that diocese, and he now leads the Archdiocese of New Orleans, where Father Odiong served in recent years. 

Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, the current leader of the Diocese of Austin, said in a statement in July that the diocese would fully cooperate with law enforcement.

Sarah McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, said on Sunday that Father Odiong had served there 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.