Texas Priest Faces Single Trial for Sexual Coercion Charges from Multiple Accusers

Priest accused of coercing congregants for sex in Texas could have single trial for charges from three separate accusers

Prosecutors say Anthony Odiong exploited his parishioners’ emotional dependency to engage in sexual conduct with them A Roman Catholic priest with ties to Texas and south-east Louisiana and criminally charged with abusing his position as a clergyman to pursue sex with three spiritually vulnerable female congregants faces being taken to trial on all of those cases at once. The Texas district attorney’s office prosecuting Anthony Odiong filed a motion seeking to consolidate the three cases in l...

By Ramon Antonio Vargas