Former Priest Anthony Odiong Convicted by Waco Jury

Overview

• A Waco jury returned guilty verdicts for Anthony Odiong on the charges tried, with the verdict delivered May 29 after roughly two hours of deliberation.
• Judge Thomas West allowed prosecutors in April to consolidate three separate indictments into a single trial that included testimony from multiple women.
• Prosecutors presented DNA evidence at trial that confirmed Odiong fathered at least one child with a woman who had been under his spiritual direction and used earlier complaints to show a pattern of conduct.
• Odiong has been in custody since his 2024 arrest in southwest Florida on child‑pornography charges, he rejected a proposed 20‑year plea, and he pleaded not guilty before trial.
• The conviction is expected to trigger sentencing, possible civil lawsuits, and canonical review, and it sharply raises questions about how dioceses in Texas, Louisiana and Nigeria tracked and reassigned Odiong after earlier complaints.