![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")
Muslim women from all over the globe are sharing stories about suffering sexual harassment and assaults while in the holy city of Mecca on pilgrimage.
After one Pakistani woman bravely detailed her account about how she had been harassed while in the Saudi Arabian city, others have felt inspired to follow in her footsteps.
A majority describe being touched inappropriately or harassed while performing ‘tawaf’, the key pilgrimage ritual of circling the Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam, inside the Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām mosque.
In a widely shared Facebook post, first highlighted by Stepfeed, Sabica Khan reveals that she was performing tawaf when she ‘felt a hand’ on her waist.
She writes that three circulations later, she ‘suddenly felt something aggressively poking my butt, I froze, unsure of whether it was intentional. I ignored and just kept moving slowly because the crowd was huge.
‘I even tried to turn around but woefully couldn’t. When I reached the Yemeni corner, someone tried to grab and pinch my butt.’
She describes being petrified and trying to turn around and spot her attacker but the person had disappeared into the busy, moving crowds.
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‘It’s sad to say that you are not even safe at holy places. I’ve been harassed, not once, not twice , but thrice. My entire experience at the holy city is overshadowed by this horrible incident.’
The Facebook post has had more than 840 comments, with many women sharing their own experiences of sexual harassment at the Kaaba.
One woman from Malaysia writes: This has happened to me and many many others. When I wrote about this a few months back in a group, I was accused of lying and fantasising. It was during the tawaf where I felt something “hard on” on my back. I gave a back kick. Many of my friends had the same experience.’
Another, from India, added: It happened with me too, when I had gone for hajj as a 14 year old. Had no words, still have no words to describe this. ‘
Other women have taken to Twitter to share, with one woman from Nigeria writing: ‘Women always get sexually harassed during hajj. Someone I know said a man tried to rub up against her backside while she was performing tawaf around the Kaaba. She thought it was because of the pushing cuz there were many people but when she looked back, mans was smiling at her.’
She also spoke of being harassed by two different taxi drivers while leaving the Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām mosque when she was just 16, and ended up walking back to her hotel.
Egyptian doctor and YouTuber Alyaa Gad, now living in Switzerland revealed on her Twitter page that her own mother had been sexually harassed while on a pilgrimage.
‘My mother (a woman in her sixties!) came back from hajj–several times– with what she described as the worst sexual harassment experiences she’d ever witnessed.’
Travelling to Mecca, the Hajj, is is an annual pilgrimage which all Muslims who are physically capable must do at least once in their lifetime.
This involves a joint prayer of thousands at the Kabaa, and afterwards the crowds perform tawaf and walk in unison around the black square building.
![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")
