AUSTIN (TX)
KWKT - Fox 44 [Waco TX]
May 22, 2026
By Roland Richter
After one three-week delay, the trial of Antony Odiong accused of sexual assault and fathering a child is set to begin Tuesday in 19th District Court.
The former Catholic priest has been indicted on three counts of sexual assault by a McLennan County grand jury.
Prosecutors earlier obtained a ruling consolidating all of the charges against Odiong into one trial.
Anthony Odiong served as a Catholic priest at St. Peters Catholic Student Center in Waco, as well as St. Mary`s of the Assumption in West from 2007 to 2012. Investigators say they also know that Anthony Odiong served in Luling, Louisiana from around 2015 to 2023.
Odiong has been in the McLennan County Jail since August 2024, after being brought to Waco from Ave Maria, Florida where he had been arrested in July of 2024 by the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force on a charge of possession of child pornography.
An attempt to get his bond reduced from $5.5 million dollars total was previously denied.
The investigation began into Anthony Odiong after police said what they felt was a credible report was filed for a possible sexual assault alleged to have occurred in 2012. Multiple women have come forward to tell about similar experiences as the victim who reported the initial allegation. Experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognized as groping, and financial abuse, with some victims experiencing various forms of manipulation.This investigation has since identified nine survivors of Anthony Odiong`s alleged abuse.
Additionally investigators say two positive identifications of offspring have been made. In a bond hearing, prosecuting attorneys presented laboratory DNA evidence showing Anthony Odiong with a certainty of greater than 99.99% as being the biological father of offspring created as a direct result of alleged sexual assault committed against a known survivor.
Investigators alleged evidence of a sexual relationship was present from 2007-2012 in emails, text messages and corroborated by alleged repeated predatory behaviors by Odiong connected with nearly every survivor identified to date.