US priest accused of sexual assault turns down 20-year plea deal

Decision leaves Anthony Odiong on course for trial on charges that could carry a maximum of life imprisonment

A hearing at which a Roman Catholic priest with ties to Texas and south-east Louisiana was tentatively scheduled to plead guilty to criminal charges of abusing his authority as a clergyman to pursue sex with spiritually vulnerable female congregants was called off, court officers said Monday.

The proceeding in the state criminal courthouse of Waco, Texas, had been tenuously called as Anthony Odiong spent more than a month mulling a plea deal.