![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-300x200.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick in the first half as Real Madrid were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after a 4-1 demolition of bitter rivals Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Real Madrid dominated every aspect of the game and toyed with last year’s champions who could not handle Vinicius and ended the contest with 10 men after defender Ronald Araujo was sent off for a second booking in the 71st minute after two fouls on the Brazilian.
“I didn’t expect us to score three so soon, but we took advantage of their high defensive line with an inspired Vinicius tonight,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti told Movistar Plus.
“It was a difficult match, the result seems too much for the way Barcelona played. At 3-1 it was even. At 4-1 they dropped their arms a bit. We are happy.”
Ancelotti was being kind to Barca who could have suffered an even bigger defeat after a dismal second half in which they didn’t record a single shot on target.
Real Madrid’s masterclass, however, had started much earlier, with Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Vinicius creating all kinds of trouble for a Barcelona defence that were playing with an extremely high line.
It took Real seven minutes to open the scoring thanks to a magnificent assist by Bellingham.
The England midfielder was surrounded by three players on the halfway line but somehow managed to produce a stunning pass to find Vinicius who took the ball in his stride and effortlessly raced past the goalkeeper to finish into an empty net.
Real wasted a great opportunity to extend their lead when Federico Valverde recovered the ball quickly and delivered a great pass through to Rodrygo, whose point-blank strike was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
Real Madrid’s second came from another long pass, this time with Dani Carvajal finding Rodrygo in the right channel. He broke into the box before squaring the ball across the penalty area for a Vinicius tap-in in the 10th minute.
Barcelona almost hit back quickly as Ferran Torres fired a half-volley against the crossbar and goalkeeper Andriy Lunin made a reflex save to deny a bullet strike from Robert Lewandowski on the rebound.
Yet Barca were resilient and managed to reduce the deficit with a fine Lewandowski strike from another rebound in the 33rd minute.
The momentum was seemingly in Barca’s favour when Aurelien Tchouameni lifted a cross to Vinicius Jr who was held by defender Araujo as he tried to pounce on the ball. Vinicius took the penalty and netted with a tidy finish to the goalkeeper’s right in the 39th minute.
The goal was a hammer blow for Barcelona and Real dominated the second half with Rodrygo hitting their fourth from a rebound in the 64th minute.
The loss will increase the pressure on Barca manager Xavi, who has faced criticism from fans and media who are unhappy with the team’s form.
They sit fourth in the LaLiga standings on 41 points, eight behind leaders Girona and seven adrift of second-placed Real Madrid.
“We have not shown the level required for a match like this,” Xavi told a press conference.
“We played our worst game. We weren’t comfortable at any point. Madrid hurt us on the counter. I apologise to the fans because it was hard for us to compete and we showed our worst side…”
