Texas priest faces trial for abusing position to pursue sex with female parishioners

A Roman Catholic priest with ties to Texas and southeast Louisiana is set to be tried on all three counts of sexually abusing his position to pursue relationships with female parishioners.

Texas prosecutors seek to try priest anthony odiong on multiple abuse charges simultaneously

The Texas district attorney's office prosecuting Odiong filed a motion in late March to consolidate the three cases ahead of a tentative trial date of May 4. The motion, prepared by first assistant DA Ryan Calvert, argues that Texas law allows a defendant to be prosecuted in a single criminal action if the alleged crimes are connected or the repeated commission of the same or similar offenses.

Each of the three pending cases against Odiong involves him