Hosanna Church debate continues

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Attorney gets copy of Hosanna suspect’s confession

Attorney gets copy of suspect’s confession

By DEBRA LEMOINE
Advocate Florida parishes bureau
Published: May 10, 2007 - Page: 4b

AMITE — Prosecutors have turned over a videotaped confession by Austin “Trey” Bernard III — one of seven people accused in the Hosanna Church of Ponchatoula child-rape case — to Bernard’s defense attorney, according to court officials and court documents.

Defense Attorney Al Benzabet told 21st Judicial District Court Judge Doug Hughes in a pre-trial hearing Wednesday he received the videotaped statement made by Bernard, 38, who is accused of one count of aggravated rape.

After the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Don Wall said that for more than a year he sifted through a voluminous amount of evidence before he could complete this phase of the prosecution.

Bernard’s trial is scheduled Aug. 27.

Trial dates for the other six defendants, indicted for aggravated rape and other sexual crimes, have not been set.

Bernard’s pending trial comes more than two years after fellow church member and pastor Louis D. Lamonica, 47, allegedly walked into the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and confessed to raping three children as part of an occult ritual.

Following Lamonica’s arrest, eight other members of the now-defunct church were arrested; two of whom have not been charged by the District Attorney’s Office.

Bernard confessed to the crime in that taped statement, according to written reports from the Sheriff’s Office filed in the court record.

Benzabet told the judge he plans to file motions to suppress evidence at the next hearing, set for Aug. 14.

Bernard, who was released from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on Nov. 22, 2006, in lieu of a $50,000 bond, is being monitored by an electronic-tracking device, court records show.

He had been given permission by the court to go to Florida, the minutes of a Feb. 12 court hearing indicate.

Bernard was present in court Wednesday, dressed in khaki slacks, tie and a blue sports coat.

Second Chance for Hosanna Church

A second chance for Louisiana church
New assembly taking over site of alleged abuse

By DEBRA LEMOINE
The (baton Rouge) Advocate

PONCHATOULA, LA. — A Ponchatoula church shut down amid criminal allegations that some of its members engaged in ritualistic abuse of children is being reborn as a home for a new congregation.

Christian Life Assembly of God in Hammond is renovating the former Hosanna Church building in Ponchatoula and moving its church there, said the Rev. Gary Wayne Yates of Christian Life.

Seven members of the former Hosanna Church were arrested and charged in the sexual abuse of three children in April and May 2004. All are awaiting trial, and the first trial is scheduled for August.

The General Council of the Assemblies of God petitioned the 21st Judicial District Court in Amite last year to take ownership of the former Hosanna Church, which began as an Assembly member church.

Once the governing body obtained rights to the church, its officials offered the facility to Christian Life in exchange for its Hammond property, Yates said. By unanimous vote of its congregation, Christian Life decided to move to Ponchatoula, Yates said.

To Yates and his 150-member congregation, the move into the facility shows another way that God can turn something bad into good, the pastor said.

"There's going to be a great thing here," Yates said.

Early in the investigation, authorities alleged that the abuse was part of a satanic ritual but later said investigators found no physical evidence of such rituals.

Yates said that his church received the building as it was after detectives combed it for evidence. The church members also have found no evidence of occult rituals.

Yates, too, does not believe occult activities took place at the church. To him, it is simply a building that will once again be used as a church.

Yates said he believes his sentiment is shared by the Ponchatoula and Hammond residents who have called offering support. So far, the air conditioning units and the paint have been donated, he said.

The construction labor and expertise are being provided by Mission America Placement Services, also known as MAPS, a home missions arm of the General Council of the Assemblies of God, Yates said. Earlier this month, a half-dozen MAPS volunteers from across the U.S. worked on the sanctuary's newly installed drywall.

1st Trial in Hosanna Case - August, 2007

First trial scheduled for Ponchatoula rape case

By DEBRA LEMOINE
Advocate Florida parishes bureau
Published: Nov 16, 2006

AMITE — The first of the seven members of a Ponchatoula church charged by a grand jury with raping children will go on trial in August, District Judge Doug Hughes ordered Wednesday.

Austin “Trey” Bernard III, 38, of Hammond will be tried on two counts of aggravated rape starting Aug. 27 in 21st Judicial District Court in Amite. No trial date has been set for the other six indicted members of the congregation.

Bernard is among the nine members of the now-defunct Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula arrested in May 2005 in an investigation focusing on complaints of alleged rape of children. He also is the only one of the seven indicted who has not gotten out of jail on bond.

Some of those arrested allegedly told investigators that the sexual abuse was part of a Satanic ritual. No physical evidence of the alleged rites were found during searches at the church and the suspects’ homes, investigators have said.

During Wednesday’s hearing in 21st Judicial District Court at Amite, Bernard’s attorney, Al Bensabet, noted that his motion for discovery — the request for all the evidence against his client to which he is entitled — has not been answered 18 months after his client’s indictment.

Hughes noted Bensabet’s statement for the record but did not comment further about it.

Assistant District Attorney Don Wall, the lead prosecutor in the case, said after the hearing that he is still going through the voluminous amount of material seized in the case. The materials include everything from computers to furniture stored in a large freight trailer at the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Wall turned over to the defense a report made by Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Detective Michael DePhillips after DePhillips interviewed Bernard on May 19, 2005. The interview was videotaped, but neither the tape nor its transcript has been turned over to defense.

The interview takes place after Bernard allegedly confessed his involvement to investigators, according to DePhillips’ report.

Bernard implicated his ex-wife, who was not indicted, and the wife of the pastor, Robbin Lamonica, 47, of Hammond, who is facing child rape charges. Bernard alleges they participated in a ritual to offer a young girl to Satan by sprinkling the child with blood while inside a pentagram, the report says. Then, Bernard says that each person present allegedly raped the child, the report says.

Bernard also alleges that Robbin and the former pastor, Louis Lamonica, 47, of Hammond, had sex with a different girl in their home. He also allegedly told the detective that Louis Lamonica and another church member who was not arrested allegedly would go to a hotel in New Orleans to have sex with the child involved in the ritual.

NOTE: The index of articles about this case can be found here.

Hosanna Church Case Update - 9.29.06

I've received some interesting information about the case -- as always, with the caveat that this is secondhand information and I cannot vouch for its veracity. If anyone has confirmatory documentation, please feel free to send them to me (anonymously or otherwise).

According to my sources, a ranking detective in the Hosanna Church case left the Tangipahoa Parish sherrif's office because of the corruption he witnessed. According to the same source, five -- yes, five -- detectives resigned after the Hosanna investigation concluded.

One of the five was Michael DePhillips.

This story just gets stranger and stranger.

I'd like to encourage those living in Ponchatoula (and nearby) who are following this case to post any links from local media in the comments section. I'd also appreciate scans or clippings, since apparently some of the stories that get printed in the newspapers don't get published in the online editions -- which makes it difficult for me to stay up-to-date.

Hosanna Church Cult and Coverup - Index

Since I've been getting so much traffic to the individual Hosanna Church articles, I decided to archive them all in one spot, and make them always accessible from the main page (the right sidebar).

I am always looking for personal insights into this case from Ponchatoula residents or anyone else with a connection to the alleged crimes. Please email me, and I will maintain strict anonymity if requested.

UPDATE 10/22/2008: Ex-pastor gets concurrent life terms in child sex case (2theadvocate.com)

UPDATE: 9/24/2008: Thanks to the nitwit(s) who are spamming the blog's comments, I'm turning on comment moderation. Comments can still be anonymous, but they'll have to be approved by me.

UPDATE 8/24/2008: Trial of Louis Lamonica Begins

UPDATE: I hadn't seen this article from the Hammond Star, which is the first to describe the ritualistic aspects from a law enforcement official: Agents Graphically Describe Abuse (11/30/2007)

UPDATE: Guilty Verdict in Hosanna Church Rape Trial (Video, WWLTV)

UPDATE: Hosanna Jury Likely to Get Case (Dec. 3, 2007) (2theadvocate)

UPDATE: Witness: Bernard Would 'Confess': Ex-Churchmember Says He Also Recanted (Dec. 1, 2007) (2theadvocate)

UPDATES: Detectives Pray, Quote Scripture During Hosanna Case Interrogations (Nov. 30, 2007) (2theadvocate); Witnesses Deny Abuse at Hosanna Church (Dec. 2, 2007) (2theadvocate)

UPDATE: FBI Agent Testifies in Hosanna Trial (Nov. 29, 2007) (2theadvocate)

UPDATE: Child's Nightmares Launched Case (Nov. 29, 2007) (2theadvocate)

UPDATE: First Witness in Hosanna Church Case to Take the Stand (Nov. 28, 2007) (2theadvocate.com)

UPDATE: Jury Selection in Austin "Trey" Bernard's trial
Jury Selection Starts for Church Member Accused of Child Rape (KATC3)

UPDATE: August 15, 2007
Defense: Witnesses Recant (2theadvocate.com)

UPDATE: May 10, 2007
Attorney Gets Copy of Hosanna Suspect's Confession (2theadvocate.com)

UPDATE: December 23, 2006
I know some of my sources have spoken about shady dealings in regards to the church property. As always, feel free to contact me privately or post anonymously to the comments section if the full story is not being covered.

A Second Chance for Hosanna Church

UPDATE: November 16, 2006
First Trial Scheduled for August, 2007

September 29, 2006 - Resignations in the Sheriff's Department

March 5, 2006
Hosanna May Reach Trial in '06 (2theadvocate.com)

January 23, 2006
Coverup Continues

December 19, 2005.
DA: Hosanna trial priority

Hosanna Coverup (part 1)

Hosanna Coverup (part 2)

Hosanna Coverup (part 3)

Hosanna Coverup (part 4)

Hosanna Church Update - The Evidence Emerges

Hosanna Church Update -- Charges Put on Hold (Monday, September 19, 2005)

DA to Seek New Indictments in Hosanna Church Sex Case (Thursday, September 15, 2005)

Hosanna Church Cult and "Brainwashing"

Community-based Ritual Abuse and the Hosanna Church Cult

Related:

Is "Brother" Mike DePhillips "Detective" Mike DePhillips?

Hosanna Coverup, the DA, and Sadie Henderson

Rick A. Ross Institute's collection of related links

Rigorous Intuition