By Ayodele Oni
A Court in Texas, United States, has convicted a Nigerian-born Catholic Priest, Anthony Odiong, for life, after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting women.
The court also imposed a total fine of $30,000 on the Nigerian-born a Catholic Priest.
The women were those who came seeking spiritual guidance from him.
The Court found that he exploited his position as a priest and abused the trust placed in him by those women who approached him for spiritual counselling and support.
Odiong, hails from Akwa Ibom state and he was sentenced, following his conviction on one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault.
The Court affirmed that whereas the women sought spiritual direction, Odiong exploited their vulnerability for sexual pleasures, contrary to expectations.
In Texas law, members of the clergy can face criminal liability for sexual conduct involving the exploitation of a person’s emotional dependence on them as a spiritual adviser.
The jury handed Odiong a life sentence for the first-degree sexual assault offence and 20 years’ imprisonment for each of the two second-degree offences.
The slight reprieve for the convicted clergy is that the three sentences will run concurrently.
He will serve them at the same time and would become eligible for parole after serving 30 years.
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