A Roman Catholic priest who served in Texas and Louisiana has been sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting multiple women who sought him out as their spiritual adviser.

Anthony Odiong, 57, was handed the life term on Tuesday by the 19th District Court in Waco, Texas, for one count of first-degree sexual assault. 

He also received two 20-year sentences for second-degree sexual assault charges and a $30,000 fine when the jury delivered the guilty verdicts on Friday.

A months-long investigation by McLennan County authorities uncovered 10 women who alleged Odiong abused them while he was their priest, prosecutor Ryan Calvert said. 

Nine came forward during a 2024 investigation, with a tenth identified in 2025. 

DNA evidence presented in court indicated he had almost certainly fathered a child with one of the victims, according to Waco Police.

Under Texas law, sexual activity between clergy and a person who is emotionally dependent on them as a "spiritual adviser" is classified as sexual assault, as consent cannot be given in that context.

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Odiong, a native of Nigeria, was arrested in Florida in July 2024 while in possession of child sexual abuse material, Calvert said. 

Prosecutors chose to pursue only the more serious sexual assault charges when he was indicted in September 2024. 

He served at St Peter Catholic Student Center and St Mary’s Church of the Assumption in West, Texas, between 2007 and 2012, and later at a church in Luling, Louisiana, from around 2015 to 2023.

One victim, identified as Mary Doe in court, told the jury she had been violently raped by Odiong. 

"They were soul murder," she said in a victim impact statement, according to The Guardian, which first reported allegations against him in February 2024. 

Odiong denied the claims at the time, calling them "false" and "salacious" in a Facebook post.

His lawyer Gerald R Villarrial had argued for probation and called the sentence "disappointing," adding that Odiong would appeal.

"We are delighted with the jury’s verdict. It is a huge relief to have citizens willing to stand up and hear victims of sexual abuse, particularly when the victims’ faith was used as a weapon against them," Calvert said.