Texas priest’s double life comes to light after life sentence for assaulting women. He also had a daughter he chose not to stand behind
Faith hid a secret
A priest secretly having a child with a parishioner was already at odds with the life he showed in public. But what investigators later learned about Anthony Odiong and his daughter made the situation even more troubling.
Odiong is now serving a life sentence for sexually assaulting two women. Religious leaders have hidden terrible secrets before, but his case revealed another part of his private life. He had a daughter whose mother prosecutors say was raising her mostly on her own.
According to The Guardian, Odiong fathered the girl in 2023 with a Louisiana parishioner identified in court as Presley Jones. Prosecutors say she received little support from him while raising their daughter. Investigators even found that the child did not have a proper car seat.
What investigators found raised more questions
Waco detectives Bradley DeLange and Zach Koenig joined victim assistance coordinator Melissa Beseda to buy one for the girl with their own money. At the same time, prosecutors Ryan Calvert and Liz Buice say evidence showed Odiong had spent more than $20,000 on telephone calls while behind bars.
Investigators also found evidence that Odiong had not completely hidden the child from those around him. His cellphone contained photographs of him wearing priestly vestments while baptizing his own daughter.
The circumstances surrounding their relationship raised further concerns. Jones told investigators that Odiong first kissed her while she was confessing her sins to him at church. Their relationship later became sexual, and she became pregnant. Odiong had been serving as pastor of St. Anthony of Padua church in Luling, Louisiana.
Investigators eventually collected DNA samples from Odiong, Jones, and the child. Testing established that he was the girl’s biological father. The DNA also supported investigators examining his relationships with women he met through his ministry.
Jones did not testify at Odiong’s trial despite authorities’ efforts to secure her cooperation. She apologized and thanked them for holding Odiong accountable.
Odiong’s legal trouble had widened after the New Orleans archdiocese suspended him from local ministry. The move followed misconduct complaints involving multiple women.
The archdiocese said it had known about complaints involving women for years and had asked church officials to recall Odiong to Nigeria. Reporting after his conviction also found that church officials in New Orleans and Austin had internal records showing women had accused him of sexual misconduct or unwanted advances before he was removed from ministry locally there.
More women eventually came forward. The criminal case focused on two women identified as Mary Doe and Jane Doe. Prosecutors argued that Odiong exploited the authority he held as a clergyman to sexually assault them. The case also fits into a troubling history involving Catholic clergy and abuse allegations.
Mary Doe later contacted Waco authorities in March 2024, helping launch a criminal investigation that identified additional women who accused him of conduct prosecutors said fit the definition of criminal clergy sexual abuse.
Testimony concerning other women helped prosecutors build their case around Mary Doe and Jane Doe. On May 29, jurors found Odiong guilty of sexually assaulting both women. Four days later, the same jury sentenced him to life in prison.
Odiong has since been sent to a maximum-security prison in Abilene, Texas. He has appealed his conviction, and his attorney has said he will reserve further comment while that process continues.
The conviction exposed serious allegations about how Odiong used his religious position. The details about his daughter reveal a different side of that private life: while investigators were buying his child a basic safety item, prosecutors say thousands of dollars were being spent on his calls from jail.
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