Texas Catholic priest who exploited spiritual authority for sex with parishioners gets 99 years
A Texas jury on Tuesday sentenced Anthony Odiong, a Roman Catholic priest convicted of criminal sexual assault, to 99 years in prison, capping a case that laid bare how he wielded spiritual authority to prey on vulnerable congregants for nearly two decades.
Odiong, 57, was found guilty last week of first- and second-degree sexual assault after a four-day trial in Waco. Jurors deliberated just two days before recommending the maximum punishment for the top charge, along with concurrent 20-year terms on two additional counts. They also imposed $10,000 fines on each charge.
The sentencing hearing, which began Monday, featured wrenching testimony from women who said Odiong touched them inappropriately during confession, coerced them into unwanted sexual acts, and used his role as spiritual director to control their lives. One former Baylor University student testified that Odiong pressed his erection against her during a hug after confession; another said he nibbled her ear and lifted her by the buttocks.
Prosecutors argued that Odiong's crimes were not isolated lapses but part of a pattern of exploitation that stretched from his ministry near Waco to his pastorate at St. Anthony of Padua in Luling, Louisiana. The case drew widespread attention after the Guardian published an investigative report in February 2024 detailing allegations from multiple women. That report prompted a woman identified in court as Mary Doe to bring the article to Waco police, telling them Odiong had fostered a sexual relationship with her from 2008 to 2011 under the guise of spiritual direction.
Under Texas law, a religious cleric who exploits his spiritual authority to induce sex commits felony sexual assault. Prosecutors used that statute to charge Odiong for indirect acts—including compelling one woman to permit her then-husband to engage in painful intercourse, which authorities deemed assault because Odiong was her spiritual director.
The trial also revealed systemic failures by the Catholic Church. Witnesses testified that local diocese officials were alerted to Odiong's misconduct as early as 2018 but allowed him to continue performing masses. One former Baylor student said she reported him through a child abuse hotline because no online system existed for adult clergy abuse. New Orleans archdiocesan leaders, despite being informed of the Waco suspension, waited until 2023 to remove Odiong from his Luling pulpit. That archdiocese last December agreed to pay $305 million to hundreds of survivors in a separate clergy abuse scandal.
Defense attorneys argued that Odiong's relationships were consensual and merely violated his vow of celibacy, not the law. They called character witnesses—including a man Odiong performed an exorcism on—who described him as compassionate. But under cross-examination, that witness acknowledged Odiong had sex with parishioners, even fathering a child with one. A therapist who testified for the defense conceded Odiong lied about having any children.
Lead prosecutor Ryan Calvert urged jurors to send a message to the Vatican. “I hope you impose a punishment that catches the attention of Catholic leaders worldwide,” he said. The 99-year sentence ensures Odiong, a naturalized U.S. citizen ordained in Nigeria in 1993, will likely die in prison.
The case has reignited scrutiny of how the church handles abuse complaints against clergy, particularly when victims are adults. Advocates say the verdict offers a measure of accountability but note that many survivors never see a courtroom. “This man used God’s name to destroy lives,” Mary Doe said in a statement. “Today, justice finally spoke.”