Satanism in a Louisiana Church

I have to admit. When I hear talk of a rise of Satanism I am a tad wary. Even as we continue to hear reports from the Catholic Church that such activity is on the rise. This has partly led to the more open request for more exorcists. I suppose this was because of the era I was raised in. Heavy Metal Music was of course the thing and people were seeing Satanism everywhere where it did not exist

However this WWL report out of the Northshore in Louisiana is truly bizaree and troubling.(WWL Vid at the link).

Austin ‘Trey’ Bernard was found guilty on child rape on December 3 rd. He was the first of seven accused members of the former Hosanna Church to stand trial on charges of abusing young children.

His guilty verdict provided some solace to his former wife Nicole who hopes that the other defendants received a message


“The fear that it struck in the other defendants was tremendous,” she said.
Nicole Bernard knows the other six defendants well. They include: Former Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Labat, Allen Pierson, who ran an electric company on the Hosanna grounds, Pierson’s wife Trish, Pastor Louis Lamonica and his wife Robin and Paul Fontenot.
Two of the three counts against Bernard were for abusing Bernard’s daughter.

I had some severe guilt for about two years and it still comes,” she said.

She said she didn’t know about what was going on and she blames a seven-days-a-week work schedule.
“I did that because Trey put us in such a severe financial situation,” she recalled.

Trey Bernard stayed at home. According to confessions he gave to law enforcement, he began abusing his daughter when she was one-year-old.

“It’s common for the non-offending parent to not know,” said Dr. Adrienne Atzemis, a child abuse expert from Children’s Hospital, who testified in Trey Bernard’s trial. “Most of the families that come to us, there is no indication, no physical indication.”

Nicole Bernard said she didn’t see any obvious signs of abuse.

“The little signs I did see – diaper rash and different things. I took her to the doctor. The doctor checked her out and never saw any signs either.”
Bernard said her daughter did eventually open up and talk about her abuse at the hands of her father and others. That’s when Nicole moved to Ohio and pushed several law enforcement agencies to launch an investigation.

She says she contacted over 40 people in four states. When she initially moved to Ohio, it was just supposed to be for a couple of weeks. She said she never considered just letting the case go.

“I said, ‘Just because I'm leaving Louisiana, and I'm starting a new life, I will never, ever quit, however many years, however much money it takes, and whatever I have to do, until the last defendant is dealt with.’”

In the initial phase of the investigation the case took bizarre twists and turns with talk of Satanism and the occult. Nicole Bernard says all of that was true.

“They were into satanic worship and they used a church, and God's name, and covered themselves with his name, with God's name to hide, to do these evil things.”

She said her daughter's nightmares were actually more linked to the Satanism than the molestations. She recalled pentagrams and black robes and the drinking of blood and urine.

“I would say, ‘Honey, are you sure?’ Don't lie, this is too important, I need to know the truth because it did seem so bizarre and so unreal, because the things she was telling me was also mixed in with role playing games and things, that Trey specifically said. They made it so bizarre, so no one would believe her.

On her return to Louisiana she was taken into custody and held in jail for 93 days.
She was never officially charged. And Tangipahoa DA Scott Perrillioux says they do not expect to charge Nicole Bernard with any crime.

She expects her ex-husband to eventually talk and implicate all of his friends.
She says there is nothing that will come out that will shock her and she added that she has been so impressed about how her daughter has responded.
“Every counselor, and we have been through a bunch, and every psychologist, have all said she is amazing,” said Bernard.

“With good support, with a non-offending care giver, or supportive care giver in the home, they have a very high possibility, a very high likelihood of doing well,” said Dr. Atzemis.
Bernard says she's also thankful for the help she got from former church members Lois and Jesse Mowbray, who helped to gather evidence.
And even through what she calls dozens of threats, including death threats, and a long stay in jail, she says she hasn't lost her faith.

“No one is immune to trauma,” she said. “The thing about it is Romans: 8-28, which is, ‘Everything that the devil meant for your bad we will turn it around for your good,’ and that, from the very beginning, is what I stand by.”

Because the case against her is still legally open, Bernard says she can’t get a job as a speech therapist, her former profession, because she can’t pass a background check.
She said she wants to get her arrest record expunged