Catholic Priest Anthony Odiong Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault in Texas and Louisiana Amid Decades of Abuse Allegations
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Personal SubStack
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/29
A Roman Catholic priest who served parishes in Louisiana and Texas pled guilty to sexual assault charges spanning both state lines and decades of alleged misconduct. Anthony Odiong reflected themes of religious authority, oversight failure, and belated accountability.
Eight women have accused Odiong of sexual assault and coercion. There was unwanted pressure and contact by Odiong reported under the guise of spiritual counselling. It is alleged that he fathered children with the victims.
These match similar cases of a psychological and social power imbalance between clergy and parishioner. These are acute in immigrant and religiously devout communities in which priests hold a reverential status in community.
Court documents revealed that Odiong planned to flee to Nigeria, which can complicate the legal response and raises concerns about accountability and flight risks in cases of clerical abuse. Continental and jurisdictional distinctions complicate clerical abuse cases.
This is a case mirroring numerous others over decades within the Catholic Church coming to light because victims speak out beyond the partitional blockades of the Catholic Church and the laity protecting those in power. There is a long decades-spanning history of institutional inaction by those in power and concealment by the same in the face of credible allegations.
The abuse of spiritual authority matches the recent payouts in Los Angeles to hundreds of survivors. Cases like California’s Assembly Bill 218 are important in reopening the door for older abuse claims. There is momentum in the United States for judicial reform of religious abuse.
It’s clearly not, to the majority of clergy and to the majority of laity, isolated instances in the recent past. These are consistent incidences by a minority of clergy against laity for decades unable to be covered by the highest authorities in the Catholic Church now. Well-meaning clergy should not be intimidated; laity who whistleblow should not be either. We should be in this collective fight against individual clergy who commit crimes. These are moral failings.
With files from The Guardian and NBC News
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