![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")
A court in Indonesia has found a cleric guilty of masterminding a 2016 terror attack in Jakarta which left four civilians dead. He has been sentenced to death.
Aman Aburrahman was convicted of planning the attack which saw a suicide bomber blow himself up at a Starbucks.
The cleric, who had declared his support for the Islamic State (IS), is also the spiritual leader of a local extremist network.
The 2016 attack was the first linked to IS in Indonesia.
Aburrahman, 46, has been in prison since 2010 but the court heard he planned the attacks from his jail cell.
The attack saw a series of explosions hit the capital, with the Starbucks and a police security post among those hit by the blast.
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The blasts centered around a major shopping and business district, close to foreign embassies and United Nations offices.
Gunmen were also holed up in the complex that housed the Starbucks, and gunfire was exchanged when police arrived.
Two attackers were killed in the shootout and two others blew themselves up.
The judge said in the sentencing on Friday that Abdurrahman had been proven guilty of “carrying out terrorism”.
Abdurrahman had pleaded not guilty, saying he had inspired his followers to travel to Syria to fight with IS but had had not ordered attacks in Indonesia.
He is the spiritual leader behind the Indonesian-based Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) military group, which had previously pledged allegiance to IS, and considered to be the de facto head of IS supporters in Indonesia.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, has suffered militant attacks in the past but this was the first claimed by IS.
In June, a cluster of suicide attacks in Surabaya saw churches and police headquarters targeted.
At least 11 people died in an attack on three churches, making it the deadliest incident since 2005, when 20 people died in the Bali bombing.
The churches attack was carried out by a family of six – including two girls ages nine and 12.
![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-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
