Ritual aspects of Hosanna Church case detailed

This is the first article I've found that describes the actual ritual aspects of the Hosanna Church defendants (and the now convicted Austin "Trey" Bernard). Some excerpts below:

Federal prosecutor Lisa Marie Freitas, now with the Child Exploitation Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, was a special agent assigned to the FBI's New Orleans office in 2005.

Freitas testified that she, too, interviewed Bernard, who told her that he had done with his daughter everything a human could do to the body of another human. Much of the abuse occurred while his wife, Nicole Bernard, was working.

She said Bernard told her that he was the first to penetrate his daughter and Louis Lamonica was the second.

She said Bernard described the rituals at the church, although the rituals were not the point of the FBI investigation. Freitas said he volunteered the information.

According to Bernard, the rituals took place in what was called “the room,” which was the church's youth room. He described how six adults would line up shoulder to shoulder and perform sex acts on his daughter or other children, who were passed down the line. The rule was that there would be no penetration or injury.

The rituals had a Satanic theme, including a Pentagram, the use of animals and animal parts such as chicken feet and the use of animal blood.

Freitas said that according to Bernard, Patricia Pierson and Robin Lamonica, two defendants in the case, put animal blood on his daughter during one of the rites. She said Bernard claimed Pierson and Lamonica also sexually abused his daughter.

He said animal blood was also put on other children, Freitas said.

She said she and other FBI agents got a search warrant for the church. Bernard served as a guide, pointing out what the different rooms and areas were used for. Freitas said nothing was in the sanctuary - no pews, no chairs, just a large, empty room.

The youth room was pitch black when the lights were out, she said, but the room was equipped with a black light. When Bernard turned it on, the light revealed writings on the walls from ceiling to floor.

“Every inch, from top to bottom, was writing,” Freitas said.

The writing consisted of songs, lyrics and Biblical verses. Some of the words were inverted or changed, she said.

Using a special chemical, a search team found signs of body fluids all over the carpet, she said. Pieces of the carpet with fluid spots were cut out for evidence.

Freitas testified that federal search warrants were issued for the residence of Chris Labat, one of the seven defendants. Agents met with sheriff's deputies to execute the warrant because Labat was a deputy. The search provided several pieces of evidence, including a computer but nothing that related directly to Bernard.

An interview with Louis Lamonica, another defendant in the case, along with his comments to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, pointed to a church group, Freitas said. Law enforcement agents then began making arrests.

Lamonica, the former pastor of Hosanna Church, turned himself in to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office before Bernard's arrest.

Tangipahoa Parish Detective Mike DePhillip said authorities learned on May 19, 2005, that Bernard was allegedly involved with the Hosanna group, Freitas said. But according to DePhillips, Bernard wanted to speak with FBI agents because some have a background in psychology.

The interview took place June 10, 2005, at the sheriff's substation in Hammond, she said. Freitas and Edwards said Bernard was fully informed of his rights and was advised that he had the right to an attorney. He declined the offer of an attorney and signed the federal form showing he had been advised of his rights.

The interview was not taped because agents did not have permission from the regional FBI office to use a tape recorder or video device, she said.

“The first thing he wanted to know was why things happen the way they do,” Freitas told the court.

She said the agents told him they only wanted to know what he had witnessed.

Bernard said, “Things just happen that way,” she said.

She said he claimed to have been sexually abused as child by his mother. He said he and his wife, Nicole, had a Christian background and he had felt she could “keep him straight.” But he said he had been in a homosexual relationship with Louis Lamonica.

Freitas said that according to Bernard, the group started under the leadership of Lamonica. Lamonica had full control at the church, and it was not long before most members left, including the youth pastor. Bernard replaced him. She said it was Bernard's job to bring the young people to a certain level of sexual behavior and to gauge how they reacted to sexual contact by an adult. About 10 children were in the youth group.

Bernard told the interviewers that the Lamonicas' two sons had been sexually abused by their father from a very young age. Their parents had trained them to lie and they were very good at it, Freitas said, quoting Bernard.

Hosanna Church debate continues

If you have any interest in the Hosanna Church case, you might want to check out the recent comments on the Hosanna Church index page.

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.

Finders Keepers

Whitley Strieber has posted a journal entry on The Finders that deserves to be read widely.

I'm posting it in its entirety below.

From unknowncountry.com:

The current scandal involving former congressman Mark Foley's inappropriate solicitations to house pages brings to mind another scandal that is probably much more serious, but which has been swept aside.

On Saturday, February 7, 1987, the Washington Post published an article about a strange case out of Tallahassee, Florida. It seems that six children were observed in a local park and reported to police because they seemed to be in a dirty and unkempt condition. The police found that they were under the care of two men who identified themselves as Douglas E. Ammerman and Michael Houlihan.

These men told police that they were conducting the children to “a school for brilliant children in Mexico.” The men were charged with child abuse and the children were taken from them, and attempts were made to identify them. The children were traced to a warehouse in Washington, and to a group called the Finders.

There the story ended, for seven years. Then, on December 27, 1993, there appeared in US News and World Report a follow-up story. The story stated that no allegations of abuse were ever proved against the Finders, the charges against the two men were dropped, and the six children were eventually returned to their mothers.

The reason that US News had revisited the case was that, earlier in 1993, the Justice Department had reopened the investigation into the Finders, saying that there were “unresolved matters” relating to the group.

Representative Tom Lewis of Florida elaborated. “Could our own government have something to do with this Finders organization and turned their backs on these children? That’s what all the evidence points to.” He went on. “And there is a lot of evidence. I can tell you this: we’ve got a lot of people scrambling, and that wouldn’t be happening if there was nothing here.”

Marion David Pettie, the founder of the Finders, maintained that there was no connection between the group and the government, and that the group had never been involved in child abuse.

US News’s sources, however, said that some of the Finders were listed in the FBI’s classified counterintelligence files. Later, all investigations into the Finders were ordered stopped by the Justice Department, as the case was determined to be a national security matter. It was referred back to the CIA.

Since then, silence.

Let's look a little deeper. US News and World Report reported, "Custom Service documents reveal that in 1987, when Customs agents sought to examine the evidence gathered by Washington,D.C. police, they were told that the Finders investigation "had become an internal matter." The police report on the case had been classified secret. Even now, Tallahassee police complain about the handling of the Finders investigation by D.C. police. 'They dropped this case,' one Tallahassee investigator says, 'like a hot rock.'"

However, those "Customs Service documents" read by US News are a matter of public record, and it might be noted that they do not state that the affair had become simply "an internal matter." They state that it had become a "CIA internal matter."

The report of US Customs Agent Ramon J. Martinez reveals that a truly spectacular horror was uncovered, exactly as Tom Lewis suggested.

It seems that the Central Intelligence Agency had intervened in the case, declared it a national security matter, and forbidden the law enforcement officials involved even to discuss it with the FBI.

The "skeptic community" lumped the case into the "satanic ritual abuse" category, CIA officials claimed that any connection between the case and the CIA was "hogwash" and the press forgot about it.

Now we discover that Congressman Foley's abusive habits had been reported to the proper authorities years ago and never investigated, either. Swept under the rug, perhaps, by a system that is used to concealing abuse of children.

It is time for the journalistic community to demand some answers about that old 1985 case. If they do so, I suspect that they are going to bring to light something that has needed to be faced for years: something is deeply, deeply awry in Washington, and it involves the abuse of children, and it goes far beyond the present scandal.

It's time to demand that the CIA explain why it suppressed the Finders case, and for the Washington Police, the Tallahassee Police and the US Customs Service to release the results of their investigations, and for the United States Congress to begin an extensive inquiry into the degree to which children have been and are being abused behind the closed doors of official secrecy and official power.

This is Ramon J. Martinez's report on the US Customs Service Finders investigation:

"On Thursday, February 5, 1987, this office was contacted via telephone by Sergeant JoAnn VanMeter of the Tallahassee Police Department, Juvenile Division. Sgt. VanMeter requested assistance in identifying two adult males and six minor children ages 7 years to 2 years.

"The adult males were tentatively identified by TPD as Michael HOULIHAN and Douglas AMMERMAN, both of Washington, D.C. who were arrested the previous day on charges of child abuse. The police had received an anonymous telephone call relative two well-dressed white men wearing suits and ties in Myers Park, (Tallahassee), apparently watching six dirty and unkempt children in the playground area. HOULIHAN and AMMERMAN were near a 1980 Blue Dodge van bearing Virginia license number XHW- 557, the inside of which was later described as foul-smelling filled with maps, books, letters, with a mattress situated to the rear of the van which appeared as if it were used as a bed, and the overall appearance of the van gave the impression that all eight persons were living in it.

"The children were covered with insect bites, were very dirty, most of the children were not wearing underwear and all of the children had not been bathed in many days. The men were arrested and charged with multiple counts of child abuse and lodged in the Leon County Jail. Once in custody the men were somewhat evasive in their answers to the police regarding the children and stated only that they both were the children's teachers and that all were enroute to Mexico to establish a school for brilliant children...

"U.S. Customs was contacted because the police officers involved suspected the adults of being involved in child pornography and knew the Customs Service to have a network of child pornography investigators, and of the existence of the Child Pornography and Protection Unit. SS/A Krietlow stated the two adults were well dressed white males. They had custody of six white children (boys and girls), ages three to six years. The children were observed to be poorly dressed, bruised, dirty, and behaving like wild animals in a public park in Tallahassee...

"SS/A Kreitlow was further advised the children were unaware of the function and purpose of telephones, televisions and toilets, and that the children had stated they were not allowed to live indoors and were only given food as a reward...

"Upon contacting Detective Bradley, I learned that he had initiated an investigation on the two addresses provided by the Tallahassee Police Dept. during December of 1986. An informant had given him information regarding a cult, known as the "Finders" operating various businesses out of a warehouse located at 1307 4th St., N.E., and were supposed to be housing children at 3918/3920 W St., N.W. The information was specific in describing 'blood rituals' and sexual orgies involving children, and an as yet unsolved murder in which the Finders may be involved. With the information provided by the informant, Detective Bradley was able to match some of the children in Tallahassee with names of children known alleged to be in the custody of the Finders.

"Furthermore, Bradley was able to match the tentative ID of the adults with known members of the Finders. I stood by while Bradley consulted with AUSA Harry Benner and obtained search warrants for the two premises. I advised acting RAC SS/A Tim Halloran of my intention to accompany MPD on the execution of the warrants, received his permission, and was joined by SS/A Harrold. SS/A Harrold accompanied the team which went to 1307 4th St., and I went to 3918/20 W St.

"During the execution of the warrant at 3918/20 W St., I was able to observe and access the entire building...There were several subjects on the premises. Only one was deemed to be connected with the Finders. [He] was located in a room equipped with several computers, printers, and numerous documents. Cursory examination of the documents revealed detailed instructions for obtaining children for unspecified purposes. The instructions included the impregnation of female members of the community known as the Finders, purchasing children, trading, and kidnapping. There were telex messages using MCI account numbers between a computer terminal believed to be located in the same room, and others located across the country and in foreign locations. One such telex specifically ordered the purchase of two children in Hong Kong to be arranged through a contact in the Chinese Embassy there. Another telex expressed interest in 'bank secrecy' situations. Other documents identified interests in high-tech transfers to the United Kingdom, numerous properties under the control of the Finders, a keen interest in terrorism, explosives, and the evasion of law enforcement. Also found in the 'computer room' was a detailed summary of the events surrounding the arrest and taking into custody of the two adults and six children in Tallahassee the previous night. There were also a set of instructions which appeared to be broadcast via a computer network which advised the participants to move 'the children' and keep them moving through different jurisdictions, and instructions on how to avoid police attention...

"On Friday, 2/6/87, I met Detective Bradley at the warehouse on 4th Street, N.E. I duly advised my acting group supervisor, SS/A Don Bludworth. I was again granted unlimited access to the premises. I was able to observe numerous documents which described explicit sexual conduct between the members of the community known as Finders. I also saw a large collection of photographs of unidentified persons. Some of the photographs were nudes, believed to be of members of the Finders. There were numerous photos of children, some nude, at least one of which was a photo of a child 'on display' and appearing to accent the child's genitals.

"I was only able to examine a very small amount of the photos at this time. However, one of the officers presented me with a photo album for my review. The album contained a series of photos of adults and children dressed in white sheets participating in a 'blood ritual.' The ritual centered around the execution of at least two goats. The photos portrayed the execution, disembowelment, skinning and dismemberment of the goats at the hands of the children. This included the removal of the testes of a male goat, the discovery of a female goat's 'womb' and the 'baby goats' inside the womb, and the presentation of a goat's head to one of the children.

Further inspection of the premises disclosed numerous files relating to activities of the organization in different parts of the world. Locations I observed are as follows: London, Germany, the Bahamas, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Africa, Costa Rica, and 'Europe.' There was also a file identified as 'Palestinian.' Other files were identified by member name or 'project' name. The projects appearing to be operated for commercial purposes under front names for the Finders.

"There was one file entitled 'Pentagon Break-In,' and others referring to members operating in foreign countries. Not observed by me but related by an MPD officer were intelligence files on private families not related to the Finders. The process undertaken appears to be have been a systematic response to local newspaper advertisements for babysitters, tutors, etc. A member of the Finders would respond and gather as much information as possible about the habits, identity, occupation, etc., of the family. The use to which this information was to be put is still unknown. There was also a large amount of data collected on various child care organizations.

"The warehouse contained a large library, two kitchens, a sauna, hot-tub, and a 'video room.' The video room seemed to be set up as an indoctrination center. It also appeared that that the organization had the capability to produce its own videos. There were what appeared to be training areas for children and what appeared to be an altar set up in a residential area of the warehouse. Many jars of urine and feces were located in this area.

"On Thursday, February 5, 1987, Senior Special Agent Harrold and I assisted the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) with two search warrants involving the possible sexual exploitation of children. During the course of the search warrants, numerous documents were discovered which appeared to be concerned with international trafficking in children, high tech transfer to the United Kingdom, and international transfer of currency.

"On March 31, 1987, I contacted Detective Jim Bradley of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). I was to meet with Detective Bradley to review the documents seized pursuant to two search warrants executed in January, 1987. The meeting was to take place on April 2 or 3, 1987.

"On April 2, 1987, I arrived at MPD at approximately 9:00 a.m. Detective Bradley was not available. I spoke to a third party who was willing to discuss the case with me on a strictly 'off the record' basis. I was advised that all the passport data had been turned over to the State Department for their investigation. The State Department in turn, advised the MPD that all travel and use of the passports by the holders of the passports was within the law and no action would be taken. This included travel to Moscow, North Korea, and North Vietnam from the late 1950s to mid 1970s.

"The individual further advised me of circumstances which indicated that the investigation into the activity of the Finders had become a CIA internal matter. The MPD report has been classified SECRET and was not available for review. I was advised that the FBI had withdrawn from the investigation several weeks prior and that the FBI Foreign Counter Intelligence Division had directed MPD not to advise the FBI Washington Field Office of anything that had transpired. No further information will be available. No further action will be taken."

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