NEW ORLEANS (LA)
TheNewOrleansChannel.com
POSTED: 1:43 pm CDT June 1, 2005
UPDATED: 2:05 pm CDT June 1, 2005
NEW ORLEANS -- Lawyers for the pastor in the church sex abuse case in Ponchatoula say they have some questions about his alleged May 16 confession to authorities in Livingston Parish.
Louis Lamonica, the former pastor of Hosanna Church, allegedly confessed to investigators that in 1999, he started within the church a Satanic cult that engaged in the ritual sexual abuse of children and animals. Police documents show that Lamonica implicated six other adults and named approximately 15 victims ranging in age from infancy to 17 years old. The documents say the cult disbanded about two years ago.
But Lamonica's lawyers said there may be problems with the way the alleged confession was taken. They would not give specific details.
They also confirmed that Lamonica was attacked by other inmates shortly after he was booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Jail.
Two other suspects in the case, Nicole Bernard and another woman whom police declined to name, were also apparently threatened, and Bernard was attacked Friday night, investigators said.
Posted by kshaw at June 1, 2005 04:21 PM