Hosanna pastor’s sentence upheld

An appellate court has upheld former Hosanna Church pastor Louis D. Lamonica’s aggravated rape convictions and life sentence for his role in a sex-abuse scandal at the now-defunct Ponchatoula church.

The state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal rejected Lamonica’s lone argument that his expert witness should have been allowed to testify at trial about false confessions and the influence of high-control groups or cults.

The 1st Circuit on Thursday found the area of research on false confessions caused by high-control groups to be “vague and speculative, at best.’’

Lamonica, of Hammond, was found guilty in 2008 of four counts of aggravated rape for abusing his two sons when they were age 11 or younger. He was given four concurrent life sentences.

Lamonica’s trial attorneys contend he confessed to authorities and in writing that he raped his sons because a so-called prophet at the Hosanna Church controlled him.
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