Hosanna Church Update: pentagrams, blood, costumes, animal rape
catherine yronwode
sexually abusing young children after the manner of the better-known
sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests ... but now we have a
sort of Satanist tinge overlaid on the story. The ritual pentagrams
were reported on by the New York Times today, as well as the
Associated Press. The nine garbage cans filled with "costumes" are an
unexpected oddity, as is the FBI's use of a backhoe. This one is
becoming more interesting every day.
--cat yronwode
------
Posted on Wed, May. 25, 2005
Police: Witnesses describe child sex abuse, blood rituals at
church
Associated Press
PONCHATOULA, La. - Witnesses told police that people dressed
in black clothing stood inside pentagrams and performed
blood rituals involving the sexual abuse of children and
animals at a now-closed church.
A woman whose phone call to police started the investigation
was arrested last week in suburban Columbus, Ohio, on a
charge that she raped her daughter. Authorities left with
Nicole Bernard from Columbus on Wednesday for Louisiana
after she gave up her right to a hearing on whether she
should be extradited.
Police searched a storage unit in Columbus after Bernard
told them it contained evidence. Officers took mattresses,
videos and nine garbage bags full of costumes from the
storage facility, according to a search warrant.
A message seeking comment was left for Bernard's attorney in
Columbus, Bob Bernard.
Eight other people, including the church's pastor and an
ex-sheriff's deputy, have been arrested in connection with
the Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula, a once-bustling house of
worship that was reduced to a handful of members in recent
years before closing in 2003. A dozen or more additional
people could be involved, authorities said.
Police, sheriff's deputies and the FBI have been
interviewing possible victims, who range in age from infants
to teenagers, authorities said.
"The sheriff said there were cult-like activities involved,"
Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's spokeswoman Laura Covington
said. "Some witnesses said the blood rituals took place
inside pentagrams."
Alleged victims have said the suspects wore black clothing
while the rituals took place. Covington said it's unclear if
the group was engaged in devil worship. Witnesses said the
rituals involved the blood of cats, and dogs and cats were
used for sexual purposes.
Bernard, who was charged with aggravated rape, told
authorities she previously lived in Columbus. Authorities
said Bernard abused her daughter when the girl was an
infant. The 5-year-old is now in foster care.
Bernard's ex-husband, Austin Aaron Bernard, was arrested May
17 on a charge accusing him of making a girl under the age
of 13 perform a sex act. Rape of a child under 13 is a
capital offense in Louisiana.
The investigation opened five weeks ago when Nicole Bernard
called from Ohio, saying she had fled from Louisiana out of
fear for her child, authorities said. On May 16, pastor
Louis Lamonica walked into the Livingston Parish sheriff's
office and authorities said he started talking about his
involvement and giving the names of others. The defunct
church is located east of Baton Rouge and north of New
Orleans.
Lamonica, 45, was arrested on two counts of aggravated rape
and one count of crime against nature. His wife, Robbin, was
charged with aggravated rape.
On Tuesday, crime scene experts from the FBI, along with
police and sheriff's officers, dug behind the church with a
backhoe.
"They're treating it as a crime scene and they're looking
for evidence," Covington said. "There aren't any tips and
they don't think there's anything down there, but they're
just making sure."
catherine yronwode
were allegedly used in the commission of the alleged sex crimes and
animal abuse.
Puppets. Not puppies. *Puppets*.
I dunno about you, but that really creeps me out.
Also notice that reporters at most newspapers are loathe to admit that
this was a CHRISTIAN church. They are calling it both "occult" and "a
cult" -- but considering the name Hosanna Church and the participation
of a local sheriff's deputy, it was very likely a nominally Christian
congregation right there in the Bible Belt.
--cat yronwode
---------------------------------------
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/052605/new_cult001.shtml
05/26/05
Ninth sex cult suspect due in La.
By DEBRA LEMOINE
dlem...@theadvocate.com
Florida parishes bureau
PONCHATOULA -- Authorities spent Wednesday looking for
additional evidence into the alleged occult rituals at
Hosanna Church that included having sex with children and
animals from 1999 to 2003.
Sheriff Daniel Edwards said investigators are sifting
through "volumes" of evidence and have at least 100
interviews to conduct.
The ninth suspect in the investigation into the alleged
cult-like practices of the Ponchatoula church was to have
arrived at New Orleans' Louis Armstrong International
Airport from Ohio on Wednesday night.
Nicole Bernard, 36, of Columbus, Ohio, waived extradition in
Ohio. Bernard is the woman who contacted authorities seven
weeks ago and triggered the investigation.
Since Livingston Parish sheriff's deputies arrested Hosanna
pastor Louis David Lamonica, 45, of Tickfaw, on May 16,
authorities have arrested eight additional alleged cult
members and have interviewed 10 victims, ages 1 to 15.
Deputies plan to interview 100 people for the case, and more
arrests could follow, Edwards said.
Edwards said he was not aware of any search warrants or
arrest warrants served as of Wednesday afternoon. There are
"volumes" of evidence for detectives to sift through, so
Edwards said he has few details to offer of what they have
found.
Deputies also went to Ohio to bring back items seized by FBI
agents from a storage unit rented by Nicole Bernard. The
Associated Press reported that the search warrant for the
storage unit in Ohio indicated agents seized a mattress,
videos and nine garbage bags of costumes.
Detectives on Monday searched a Hammond storage unit rented
by Patricia Pierson, 54, and found shotguns and a sword,
Edwards said. Pierson was arrested Monday night when she
arrived at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport.
Edwards said he did not know if any costumes were found in
Pierson's storage unit.
Victims and suspects have told deputies that costumes and
puppets were used in the rituals, sometimes to persuade the
children to participate. Detectives also believe that
members dressed in black to perform rituals that included
cat blood on a pentagram.
Preliminary examination and bail hearings are scheduled next
week for three of the suspects, Austin A. Bernard III, 36,
of Hammond; Paul Fontenot, 21, of Hammond and Lamonica.
A bail hearing for Pierson was held Wednesday in Amite. Her
bail was set at $250,000. She remained in jail Wednesday
evening, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Laura Covington said.
Counts against Pierson include principal to aggravated
kidnapping, principal to aggravated rape and sexual battery.
Two suspects -- Lamonica and former Tangipahoa Parish
Sheriff's Deputy Christopher B. Labat, 24, Hammond, are
known to have private attorneys representing them.
A message left for Amite-based attorney Michael Thiel, who
the Sheriff's Office said is representing Louis David
Lamonica, was not immediately returned Tuesday.
Hammond attorney Gary Jordon, who with his partner, Ron
Macaluso, represents Labat, said he had no comment at this
time.
Other suspects are apparently represented by the Public
Defender's Office. An inquiry left at the Public Defender's
Office in Amite was not immediately answered Tuesday.
catherine yronwode
angle.
The town only has 5,000 residents, so one can only guess how much of
an impact this is having on local residents.
This is the first report i have seen that gets into the religious
angle in any depth. According to this article, Hosanna Church was
affiliated with the Assembly of God denomination of Christianity. Not
only that, Louis David Lamonica, the ring-leader of the sexual abuse
scheme and the church's pastor, was the son of an Assembly of God
preacher who took over his father's church when the father died. As
the church grew in membership, he moved it to a new location and then
slowly drove away all congregants who were not interested in making
the change-over from conventional Christianity to sexually abusing
animals and children through the use of puppets (i'm sorry, the puppet
thing still has me weirded out).
Remember when the FBI issued their report that the big flap over
Satanic Ritual Abuse was bogus and that Satanic Ritual Abuse could not
be proven to have existed in any organized way and that all such
reports were fabricated?
Well, either these folks are all fabricating their crimes or they read
earlier fabricated stories and decided to copy-cat them in real life.
Is it possible that this is a Satanic-Panic false-accusation story --
or is life now imitating fiction?
--cat yronwode
--------------------------------------
05/25/05
Church was closed to outsiders
People linked changes to Lamonica's takeover
By STEVEN WARD sw...@theadvocate.com Advocate staff writer
PONCHATOULA -- During the final days of Hosanna Church,
out-of-towners looking for a place to worship on a Sunday
were greeted with closed doors and requests from the
church's dwindling congregation to leave the property.
"Strangers were not allowed there. You had to be invited,"
said the Rev. Gary Wayne Yates, pastor of the Hammond
Revival Center and a former member of Hosanna Church in the
1980s when it was known as First Assembly of God.
Nobody knows exactly what secrets Hosanna Church Pastor
Louis David Lamonica was hiding behind those closed doors
except for members of the church's small congregation just
before it closed in 2003.
But speculation among residents of Ponchatoula is rampant
following the recent arrests of nine former members of that
church and the ensuing newspaper and broadcast accounts of
devil worshiping, sexual abuse of children and animals, and
occult rituals involving pentagrams and the blood of
animals.
Stopping anyone today on the streets of downtown Ponchatoula
-- a Tangipahoa Parish town of approximately 5,000 known as
"America's Antique City" and recognized internationally for
its Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival -- and asking about what
reportedly happened at Hosanna Church, usually brings
responses filled with disgust, disbelief and shock.
"Louis David Lamonica was a wonderful person. When we went
to church there, Louis and his wife always used to sit in
the second pew on the right side of the church," Judy Hooter
of Hammond said Tuesday near the train tracks that run
through the center of Ponchatoula.
"But we are in disbelief about all of this. Never in a
million, million years would we have ever guessed that Louis
was capable of these things. Somewhere along the line,
things went wrong for him," Hooter said.
Louis David Lamonica, 45, of Tickfaw surrendered to
authorities at the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office on May
16. Once there, Lamonica sat down and told detectives he had
sex with children and animals, Livingston Parish Sheriff's
Detective Stan Carpenter said. Lamonica's arrest led to
eight additional arrests between May 16 and Tuesday.
One of those subsequent arrests is that of Lamonica's wife,
Robbin D. Lamonica, 45, 25735 Oak Alley Drive, Holden, who
was booked with aggravated rape Thursday after a male victim
told detectives in Livingston that he had sex with Robbin
Lamonica from the time he was 4 years of age until he was
13.
Another arrest is that of former Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's
Deputy Christopher Blair Labat, 24, Lumino Lane, Hammond.
Labat, who was fired from his Sheriff's Office job the day
he was arrested, is accused of aggravated rape and
malfeasance in office.
Yates, 50, the Hammond Revivial Center pastor, said he
remembers Louis David Lamonica as a good man who once went
to Yates' home after Yates' son accidentally drowned in
1999.
"But the man I have seen on TV and in the newspapers is not
that same man," Yates said. "He was a fine man and a Sunday
school teacher. I think he started going down a slippery
slope in 1999 after he took over the church. The last time I
talked to him was 1999."
Yates said he felt the need to pray for Louis David
Lamonica, but he isn't sure why.
"It was something I just needed to do. I prayed for him and
I called him. I tried to reach out then. Many people tried
to reach out to him. But he just told me not to contact him
anymore," Yates said.
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said the criminal
acts with children and animals reportedly occurred from 1999
until 2003, when Hosanna Church officially closed down.
Suspect's father praised
For many in Ponchatoula, the sins of the son should not
tarnish the memory of his father.
Louis Lamonica -- Louis David Lamonica's father -- started
First Assembly of God Church in 1967 in Hammond, Yates said.
The church was on Laurel Street then, and the senior
Lamonica initially preached to a congregation of only 12
families.
Pat Ory of Ponchatoula recalls Louis Lamonica as a
charismatic and God-fearing man who attracted all sorts of
people from all sorts of religions to his then-new,
nondenominational church.
"He was precious and truly loved by everybody in the
community," Ory said Tuesday. "People just flocked to his
church back then. It was a wonderful place to worship."
Once Louis Lamonica's new church grew to about 100 members
in size, he decided to relocate to a bigger place -- the
site off U.S. 51 in Ponchatoula where the empty Hosanna
Church now sits. That was in 1974.
Louis Lamonica died of stomach cancer at age 49 in 1982, his
wife, Angie Lamonica, said Tuesday.
Following Louis Lamonica's death, Glynn Fendlason took over
as pastor of the church. Following Fendlason's tenure, Mike
Parker became pastor of the First Assembly of God Church.
Angie Lamonica said Louis David Lamonica became pastor of
his father's church in 1993. Louis David Lamonica dropped
the First Assembly of God name in 2002 and changed it to
Hosanna Church, Yates said.
Yates said Louis David Lamonica's father must have had an
impact on his son was he was a child.
"I remember him telling me once that he remembered hearing
his father pray in the other room," Yates said.
Son became isolated
Jack Pisciotta, 51, of Ponchatoula said he is Louis David
Lamonica's first cousin.
Pisciotta's uncle, Louis Lamonica, presided at the 1971
wedding of Pisciotta and his bride in Lamonica's Hammond
church.
"My uncle was a great guy. He was the most-honest and giving
person I ever knew. He was soft-spoken but outgoing and
friendly," Pisciotta said.
But Pisciotta said that once his cousin took over the church
in the 1990s, Louis David Lamonica started running his
entire family away from the church and isolated himself from
the rest of his family.
"He ran off two of his aunts who worked at the church and
his own mother," Pisciotta said.
Pisciotta said something went wrong with Louis David
Lamonica.
"We were close as kids. He was a typical kid. He and his
wife were great people. I just can't figure out where all of
this came from," Pisciotta said.
When commenting on the arrests and the accusations,
Pisciotta said it seems like the kind of thing you only read
about.
"You just don't think it could happen in your own home
town," Pisciotta said.
Core group formed
Pat Ory, who said she and her husband, John, are Baptists,
currently attend a Baptist church.
They left First Assembly of God Church in 1997 while Louis
David Lamonica was its pastor.
"It was very strange because Louis David and his wife
started to try and get us to turn away from the rest of his
family. And that was strange because we knew his family, and
they were wonderful people," Ory said.
Ory said she believes that's how the downward spiral of
Louis David Lamonica and the church began.
"They wanted the family out," Ory said. "And they wanted to
start drawing people in. They wanted to draw us in. Into his
small core group. He even came to our house to draw us in."
Ory said Louis David Lamonica was a good man who never
smoked, drank or cursed.
"He was almost a saint. But I believe his wife manipulated
him. She was strong," Ory said.
Ory said there were many good Christian people associated
with the church for many years.
"It hurts. It's just a shame. My own daughter said to me
that I should never say we belonged to the church at one
time," Ory said.
Pastor Yates said his biggest worry about what reportedly
happened, second only to what happened to the victims, is
the reputation of the church.
"If it all ends like this," Yates said, "that's all people
will remember."
catherine yronwode
the wrap-up for now on the Assembly of God Rape Church. There will be
up to a 60 day delay before the Grand Jury gets the material.
At the URL below, there are pictures of law officers carrying off a
tarp of freshly dug dirt, presumably from the FBI backhoe work of
yesterday. I'm not sure what they are looking for in the dirt, but one
would suspect animal remains, not human ones, as no children have been
reported missing (only raped) and the talk of "cat blood scarifies"
continues.
Note that this latest article reverts to the previous standard whereby
the church's denomination -- Assemblies of God -- is elided from the
report. I find this reprehensibly biased, as the denominational
affiliation of *other* pastorly rapists -- such as Catholic Church
priests and the Lutheran Church president Dennis Rader (The BTK serial
killer of Wichita, Kansas) -- has been openly a part of all reports
concerning *their* crimes.
Note also an inconsistency in this report:
In the 2nd 'graph,
"Nine people have been arrested"
but in the 9th 'graph,
"Lamonica, 45, was arrested and [...]
Seven other people face charges."
-- a total of eight arrestees.
Perhaps Nicole Bernard, the woman extradited from Ohio, was not
counted in the material collected for an earlier report, and when two
reports were combined to make this one, a discrepancy was created.
Here are the names of those arrested, their ages, occupations, places
of residence, and charges against them, as i have found them in this
and other reports:
1) Louis David Lamonica, 45:
pastor of First Assembly of God / Hosanna Church
in Ponchatoula, LA; resident of of Tickfaw, LA;
charged with two counts of aggravated rape and
one count of crime against nature.
2) Robbin Lamonica,
wife of Louis David Lamonica; charged with aggravated
rape.
3) Nicole Bernard, 36:
mother of a victim, fled to OH, costumes and videos
were found in her storage unit; extradited from OH;
charged with aggravated rape of her infant daughter;
the child, now 5 years old, is in foster care.
4) Austin Aaron Bernard III, 36:
resident of Hammond, LA; ex-husband of Nicole Bernard;
charged with making a girl under the age of 13 perform
a sex act -- a capital crime in LA state.
5) Christopher B. Labat, 24,
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Deputy, resident of Hammond, LA.
6) Patricia Pierson, 54:
shotguns and a sword were found in her storage unit,
charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape,
and sexual battery.
7) Paul Fontenot, 21
resident of Hammond, LA.
So far i have found no published details on 2 of the arrestees, nor
specific charges for all those named.
Anyone else have the information handy?
cat yronwode
----
2theadvocate
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/052605/new_cultsheriff001.shtml
Sheriff: Suspected core members of alleged sex abuse ring in
custody By The Associated Press
05/26/05
12 p.m.
PONCHATOULA -- The suspected core members of a group that
allegedly abused children and animals within the walls of a
now-defunct church have been arrested and the next major
step will be to send the case to a state prosecutor,
authorities say.
Nine people have been arrested in connection with alleged
activities at the Hosanna Church, a once-bustling house of
worship that dwindled to a handful of members -- some
implicated in allegations of sexually abusing children and
animals -- before it closed in 2003.
"Right now, it's still in the fact-finding mode," District
Attorney Scott Perrilloux said. "It's a law enforcement
issue, but when they're done, they package it and the case
file is sent to us."
Perrilloux will have 60 days from the time of the arrests to
present the case to a grand jury.
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said he believes
the core members are in custody, though other arrests are
still possible. Late Wednesday, one of the suspects, Nicole
Bernard, was returned from Ohio to face an aggravated rape
charge.
The investigation opened five weeks ago when Bernard called
from Ohio, saying she had fled from Louisiana out of fear
for her child, authorities said. On May 16, pastor Louis
Lamonica walked into the Livingston Parish sheriff's office,
allegedly started talking about the crimes and his
involvement and giving the names of others.
The church hosted worshippers from both Livingston and
Tangipahoa parishes, located east of Baton Rouge and north
of New Orleans.
Lamonica, 45, was arrested and booked on two counts of
aggravated rape and one count of crime against nature. Seven
other people face charges.
Police searched a storage unit in Columbus, Ohio, after
Bernard told them it contained evidence. Officers took
mattresses, videos and nine garbage bags full of costumes
from the storage facility, according to a search warrant.
Authorities have been investigating witness statements that
people dressed in black clothing stood inside pentagrams and
performed blood rituals at the church. Police, sheriff's
deputies and the FBI have been interviewing potential
victims, which authorities said ranged in age from infants
to teens.
Crime scene experts have spent several days digging around
the church.
catherine yronwode
I still have not found the names of all the "9 suspects in custody"
that most news reports mention in connection with the Hosanna Church /
First Assembly of God rape ring in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, but i did
find another article online at
http://www.annistonstar.com/PDF/2005/052005_B.pdf
with another name and more details about the charges:
Here are updated names of those arrested, their ages, relationships to
one another, occupations, places of residence, and the charges against them:
1) Louis David Lamonica, 45:
pastor of First Assembly of God / Hosanna Church
in Ponchatoula, LA; resident of of Tickfaw, LA;
husband of Robbin Lamonica; broke the case when he
walked into the sheriff's office and began confessing
and naming his fellow rapists; charged with two counts
of aggravated rape and one count of crime against
nature.
2) Robbin Lamonica,
wife of Louis David Lamonica; charged with aggravated
rape.
3) Austin Aaron Bernard III, 36:
resident of Hammond, LA; ex-husband of Nicole Bernard;
worked with the youth group of the church; charged with
making a girl under the age of 13 perform a sex act --
a capital crime in LA state.
4) Nicole Bernard, 36:
mother of a victim and former wife of Austin Aaron
Bernard; fled to OH; videos and 9 bags of "costumes"
were found in her storage unit; extradited from OH;
charged with aggravated rape of her infant daughter;
the child, now 5 years old, is in foster care.
5) Allen R. Pierson, 46:
lived in an apartment in the church complex; possibly
related to Patricia Pierson (same surname); charged with
raping a girl aged 9 or 10.
6) Patricia Pierson, 54:
possibly related to Allen R. Pierson (same surname);
shotguns and a sword were found in her storage unit;
charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape,
and sexual battery.
7) Christopher Blair Labat, 24,
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Deputy; resident of Hammond,
LA; fired from his job; charged with multiple (number
unspecified) counts of aggravated rape; placed on suicide
watch in his jail cell.
8) Paul Fontenot, 21
resident of Hammond, LA; charged with aggravated rape.
More details as i acquire them ... and, yes, i still wonder if this is
all for real. The part about raping children seems feasible, but they
also are accused with raping *cats*, which just seems so unlikely. I
mean, it's almost impossible to give a cat a pill or bathe a cat --
how could one -- and why would one want to? -- *rape* a cat?
cat yronwode
catherine yronwode
26, 2005 connection with the Hosanna Church / First Assembly
of God child-rape ring, animal abuse, and "devil worshipping
rituals" in Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
Included are the names of those arrested, their ages,
relationships to one another, occupations, places of
residence, and the charges against them:
1) Louis David Lamonica, 45:
pastor of First Assembly of God / Hosanna Church
in Ponchatoula, LA, son of church's founder, Louis
Lamonica; resident of Tickfaw, LA; husband of
Robbin Lamonica; allegedly (according to his sister
Liz Lamonica Roberts) he "suffered a nervous breakdown,"
forced his family members out of the church, and then
swore out a restraining order against his own mother
when she tried to "reach out to him;" he broke the case
by walking into the sheriff's office and confessing to
child-rape and having sex with a dog, after which he
named his fellow rapists; charged with two counts
of aggravated rape of a juvenile under the age of 13 --
a capital offense in LA -- and one count of crime against
nature (sex with a dog). Picture of church building
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/051905/16089_512.jpg
2) Robbin Lamonica,
wife of Louis David Lamonica; charged with aggravated
rape of a juvenile -- a capital offense in LA. Picture:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/052105/16109_512.jpg
3) Austin Aaron ("Trey") Bernard III, 36:
once lived in one of three apartments at the church
complex; currently resident of Southwest Railroad Ave.,
Hammond, LA; ex-husband of Nicole Bernard; worked with
the youth group of the church; confessed to having sex
with a juvenile under age 13 around November 2002;
charged with aggravated rape / making a girl under the
age of 13 perform a sex act -- a capital crime in LA
state.
4) Nicole Bernard, 36:
mother of a victim; former wife of Austin Aaron
Bernard; sister of Paul Fontenot; fled to Columbus,
OH; videos and 9 garbage bags filled with "costumes"
were found in her storage unit; extradited from OH;
charged with aggravated rape of a juvenile under the
age of 13 (her own infant daughter) -- a capital crime
in LA; the child, now 5 years old, is in foster care.
Picture:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/052105/16109_512.jpg
5) Paul Fontenot, 21
resident of Hammond, LA; brother of Nicole Bernard;
charged with aggravated rape of a juvenile under the
age of 13 -- a capital crime in LA. Picture:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/052105/16109_512.jpg
6) Allen R. Pierson, 46:
lived in an apartment in the church complex; husband
Patricia Pierson; charged with raping a girl aged 9
or 10 -- a capital crime in LA state.
7) Patricia ("Trish") Pierson, 54:
wife of Allen R. Pierson (same surname); fled to OK;
shotguns and a sword were found in her storage unit;
charged with aggravated kidnapping, sexual battery,
and aggravated rape of a juvenile under the age of 13 --
a capital offense in LA.
8) Christopher Blair Labat, 24,
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Patrol Deputy (hired
January 2004); once lived in one of three apartments
at the church complex; currently resident of Lumino
Lane, Hammond, LA; fired from his job; charged with
multiple (number unspecified) counts of aggravated rape
of a juvenile under the age of 13 -- a capital crime in
LA; placed on suicide watch in his jail cell.
9) Lois Mowbray, 54:
resident of 39133 Keaghey Road, Ponchatoula, LA; charged
with obstruction of justice, failure to report a felony,
and being an accessory after the fact to aggravated rape.
Released on a $150,000 bond (the only suspect for whom
bond was set, as all others are capital cases). Picture:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/052105/16109_512.jpg
Here is the essential quote on the "devil worship" aspect
of the case, from May 21, 2005 at
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/052105/new_cult001.shtml
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said Friday that
members of a Ponchatoula church cult accused of sexually
abusing children and animals told detectives they carried
out the practices for years as part of a devil-worshipping
ritual involving cat blood.
"This is hard to talk about and harder to believe, but some
of the suspects have told us their intention in all of this
was devil worshipping," Edwards said.
As for the animal abuse charges, this is from the same article:
"We know of one dog. That was a pet and the dog is dead
now," Edwards said. The sheriff said one of the suspects had
sex with that dog, and that blood from a cat was used in the
cult's rituals. The dog and cat victims apparently were pets
belonging to members of the church's congregation, he added.
Sexual abuse of a cat as well as a dog was mentioned on May, 2005 at
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/052505/new_cultwitnesses001.shtml
Alleged victims have said the suspects wore black clothing
while the rituals took place. [...] Witnesses said the
rituals involved the blood of cats, and dogs and cats were
used for sexual purposes.
Additional details on suspects came from
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/052005/new_arrests001.shtml
and
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/052205/new_probe001.shtml
cat yronwode
tiny dancer
"catherine yronwode" <c...@luckymojo.com> wrote in message
news:4296C19B...@luckymojo.com...
Is it just me, or do most of those last names have that 'new orleans' cajun
type sound to them? Fontenot, wasn't that also the name of one of the perps
in that murder trial of long ago? The one where one of the guys wives was
killed and each of the men, husband and husbands best friend, each pointed
the finger at each other for the murder?
td
catherine yronwode
>
> "catherine yronwode" <c...@luckymojo.com> wrote
[updated list]
THE SUSPECTS
1) Louis David Lamonica, 45:
Pastor of First Assembly of God / Hosanna Church
in Ponchatoula, LA; son of church's founder, Louis
Lamonica; resident of Holden or Tickfaw, LA; husband of
Robbin Lamonica; allegedly (according to his sister
Liz Lamonica Roberts) "suffered a nervous breakdown,"
forced his family members out of the church, and then
swore out a restraining order against his own mother
when she tried to "reach out to him;" he broke the case
by walking into the sheriff's office and confessing to
child-rape and having sex with a dog in the church,
beginning in 1999 and extending through 2003; he named
several fellow rapists; he was charged with two counts
of aggravated rape of a juvenile under the age of 13 --
a capital offense in LA -- and one count of crime against
nature (sex with a dog). Picture of church building
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/051905/16089_512.jpg
2) Robbin Lamonica, 45:
Wife of Louis David Lamonica; resident of 25735 Oak Alley
Drive, Holden, LA; charged with one count of aggravated
rape of a juvenile -- a capital offense in LA. A male
victim told deputies that he had been having sex with
Robbin Lamonica from the time he was 4 years of age until
he was 13. Picture:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/052105/16109_512.jpg
3) Austin Aaron ("Trey") Bernard III, 36:
Once lived in one of three apartments at the church
complex; currently resident of Southwest Railroad Ave.,
Hammond, LA; ex-husband of Nicole Bernard; worked with
the youth group of the church; confessed to having sex
with a juvenile under age 13 around November 2002;
charged with aggravated rape / making a girl under the
age of 13 perform a sex act -- a capital crime in LA
state.
4) Nicole Bernard, 36:
Mother of a victim; former wife of Austin Aaron
Bernard; sister of Paul Fontenot; fled to Columbus,
OH; videos and 9 garbage bags filled with "costumes"
were found in her storage unit; extradited from OH;
charged with aggravated rape of a juvenile under the
age of 13 (her own infant daughter) -- a capital crime
in LA; the child, now 5 years old, is in foster care.
Picture:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/052105/16109_512.jpg
5) Paul Fontenot, 21
Resident of Hammond, LA; brother of Nicole Bernard;
charged with aggravated rape of a juvenile under the
age of 13 -- a capital crime in LA. Picture:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/052105/16109_512.jpg
6) Allen R. Pierson, 46:
Lived in an apartment in the church complex; husband
Patricia Pierson; charged with raping a girl aged 9
or 10 -- a capital crime in LA state.
7) Patricia ("Trish") Pierson, 54:
Wife of Allen R. Pierson; fled to Oklahoma but returned;
shotguns and a sword were found in her storage unit;
charged with aggravated kidnapping, sexual battery,
and aggravated rape of a juvenile under the age of 13 --
a capital offense in LA.
8) Christopher Blair Labat, 24,
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Patrol Deputy (hired
January 2004); once lived in one of three apartments
at the church complex; currently resident of Lumino
Lane, Hammond, LA; fired from his job; charged with
multiple (number unspecified) counts of aggravated rape
of a juvenile under the age of 13 -- a capital crime in
LA; placed on suicide watch in his jail cell.
9) Lois Mowbray, 54:
resident of 39133 Keaghey Road, Ponchatoula, LA; charged
with obstruction of justice, failure to report a felony,
and being an accessory after the fact to aggravated rape.
Released on a $150,000 bond (the only suspect for whom
bond was set, as all others are capital cases). Picture:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/052105/16109_512.jpg
> Is it just me, or do most of those last names have that
> 'new orleans' cajun type sound to them?
Not New Orleans surnames, but they definitely are Cajun surnames. The
town -- all 5,000 residents -- is near Baton Rouge. There are several
Cajun / rural Louisiana surnames among the law officers quoted, too.
> Fontenot, wasn't that also the name of one of the
> perps in that murder trial of long ago? The one
> where one of the guys' wives was killed and each
> of the men, husband and husband's best friend, each
> pointed the finger at each other for the murder?
I don't recall that case -- but there is a well known Louisiana
children's' book writer named Mary Alice Fontenot, a Louisiana state
senator named Fontenot, and there have been Cajun musicians of that
surname as well. Mr. Fontenot the rape suspect is the brother of
accused rapist Mrs. Bernard (and Bernard also happens to be the
surname of a famous Cajun/rock singer, Rod Bernard) -- so it is
probable that her original surname is Fontenot as well. I believe the
Cajuns of Louisiana have a limited number of surnames, due to having
descended from a small immigrant population.
The pictures at the links show a group of typical rural Louisiana
white folks -- no psychotic scowls or methamphetamine eyes -- which
makes the crimes all the more upsetting to me. Unless this is a case
of Satanic Panic (ala the SRA false accusations of a decade or more
ago) then we are dealing with a major aberration here. I don't know
the percentage of arrested rapists in the general population of the
USA, or the percentage of USA citizens who were victims of rape while
under the age of 13 -- but in this town of 5,000 people, .2% of the
residents were systematically conspiring among themselves to
repeatedly rape .4% of the residents over the course of many years.
They were also raping dogs and cats and performing rituals with cats'
blood in an Assemblies of God Christian church. All of their human
victims were children under 13. And no one ever suspected or reported
anything. Yuuuuuck.
No big news on the case today -- only that the FBI declined to
identify what they'd dug up in their now-completed backhoe search
behind the church, other than that "a large carpet" and "construction
debris" had been buried in the dirt.
Cordially,
cat yronwode