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	Gag Order Issued in Child Sex Trial Judge Tells Attorneys, Clients Not to Talk about Hosanna Church Cases By Debra Lemoine The Advocate August 30, 2007 http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/suburban/9461047.html Amite — A 21st Judicial District judge barred attorneys from talking to news reporters about the state's cases against two of the former Hosanna Church members accused of having sex with children. State District Judge Zoey Waguespack issued the gag order during a pre-trial hearing for the two defendants in her Amite courtroom on Wednesday. Robbin Lamonica, 47, of Holden is charged with aggravated oral sexual battery, and Louis D. Lamonica, 47, of Hammond is charged with aggravated rape. "I have been reading a lot about this case and seeing it on TV," Waguespack told attorneys. "We are not going to try this case in the press." Waguespack told the attorneys she is issuing her orders barring the attorneys and their clients from talking to the media because she wants to be able to seat an impartial jury when the Lamonicas go on trial. No trial date has been set for either of the Lamonicas, who are divorced. Her orders don't apply to the cases against the other five former Hosanna Church members because they fall under the jurisdiction of another judge, she said. Assistant District Attorney Don Wall and Defense Attorney Duncan Kemp, who represents Robbin Lamonica, offered no objections to the judge's orders. Louis Lamonica's attorney, Michael Thiel, was not present in Waguespack's court at the time the judge issued the gag order because he was trying a case in the adjacent courtroom. Former Hosanna pastor Louis Lamonica's alleged confession to the crimes made to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office in April 2005 led to the arrests of eight other church members and months of steady media coverage of the investigation of the members' alleged sexual abuse of children during occult rituals. A grand jury indicted seven of the nine arrested, charging them mostly with aggravated rape, and only one has a trial date scheduled. The case against Austin "Trey" Bernard III, 38, of Hammond is set for trial on Nov. 26. The Wednesday pre-trial hearings for both Lamonicas were continued until Sept. 25. Wall told the judge that he will have turned over all evidence the Lamonicas' attorneys are entitled to by then, and the court can begin to hear defense motions on the evidence. Waguespack also on Wednesday denied a defense request to end electronic monitoring of Robbin Lamonica. The 21st Judicial District Court has jurisdiction in Livingston, Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes. Contact: dlemoine@theadvocate.com
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