![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")
U.S. internet companies Google and Facebook on Monday rejected Moscow’s allegations that they had interfered in Russian elections by running political ads during the voting day.
The search engine Google and the social network Facebook said in separate statements that it was the advertisers who were responsible in the matter, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
“We support responsible political advertising and expect that it must comply with local legislative requirements,” Google said.
Facebook expressed a similar sentiment, adding: “If we receive notice that an advertisement violates local legislation, we examine it and take appropriate measures.”
Russia’s federal communications watchdog had on Sunday accused the companies of violating legislation prohibiting political advertising during elections.
“Such actions can be regarded as interference in Russia’s sovereign affairs and obstruction of democratic elections,” the watchdog Roskomnadzor said in a statement.
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Russia held municipal and regional elections throughout the country on Sunday that had been marked by a wave of pro-opposition protests in the run-up to the vote.
Senior Russian officials have asserted that foreign powers have been supporting the protesters.
A senior lawmaker threatened last week to expel German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle as it refused to attend a parliamentary hearing on an allegation that its coverage was interfering in Russian affairs.
A Deutsche Welle reporter was briefly detained while covering a Russian political opposition protest in Moscow in July.
Officials in the U.S. have previously implicated the Russian state in attempts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in favour of Donald Trump, who had expressed personal admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. government has indicted several Russian nationals on such charges. Putin has denied Russian state involvement.
Relations between Russia and the West have plummeted to their frostiest point since the Cold War in recent years since Russia annexed neighbouring Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014.
Russia’s leadership on Monday lent support to a federal investigation into the Russian election meddling claims against Google and Facebook.
The investigation is being overseen by a parliamentary commission.
“The commission has been set up … to consider these issues in a professional way,” Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said in comments carried by state news agency TASS.
Peskov emphasised the investigation’s importance and said the Kremlin would be awaiting its findings.
![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")
