Pedophile or puppet? Trial begins

• By DEBRA LEMOINE
• Advocate Florida parishes bureau
• Published: Aug 23, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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AMITE — Louis D. Lamonica confessed to raping his two young sons because he was manipulated by a self-proclaimed prophet who had visions of Lamonica’s sins and insisted he admit them to be cleansed by God, defense counsel said in opening statements Friday morning.

Assistant District Attorney Don Wall, however, told the jury in his opening statements that Lamonica is a pedophile who began having sex with his sons starting when they were 5 years old. Lamonica not only confessed these crimes to law enforcement authorities but also wrote about them “to a nauseating extent,” Wall told the jury.

Lamonica, 48, of Hammond, is being tried in 21st Judicial District Court at Amite on four counts of aggravated rape of his two sons. He is the second of seven members of the now-defunct Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula to go on trial after being indicted in 2005 on charges of sexually abusing children.

Prophet gains power
Defense attorney Michael Thiel told the jury of seven men and five women that the power grab of the so-called prophet, Lois Mowbray, not only led to the end of Lamonica’s tenure as pastor but also the demise of the church itself.

Mowbray, 56, formerly of Ponchatoula, had been arrested by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office in May 2005 and booked with being an accessory after the fact to rape and failure to report a felony. She was never charged with the crimes by the District Attorney’s Office or a parish grand jury.

“There was something clearly evil and sinister going on at the church,” Thiel told the jury. “And that evil, sinister presence was personified by a self-proclaimed prophet.”

Lamonica was elected in 1993 to serve as pastor of the Assembly of God-affiliated church his deceased father had built, Thiel said. However, Lamonica was not ready for this task and sought the guidance of Mowbray, who professed to have a “direct connection to God.”

Mowbray, in turn, used Lamonica’s vulnerability to gain a leadership role in the church and eventually replaced Lamonica as pastor in 2003, Thiel said.

As Mowbray’s influence grew, many long-time members were encouraged to leave the church, and Lamonica’s mother and two aunts, who held staff positions at the church, were let go, Thiel said.

Thoughts equate to deeds
Mowbray began preaching a theology that sinful thoughts are the same as performing the forbidden acts, Thiel said. Mowbray also would call out to specific members of the congregation to come up front and confess to the entire congregation to purge their souls because she had visions from God that they had erred, Thiel said.

Both practices are not part of the mainstream doctrine of the Assemblies of God, Thiel said.

When Lamonica refused his alter call to confess, Mowbray hounded him to do so and persuaded his wife, Robbin Lamonica, that he must do so, Thiel said.

Robbin Lamonica, 48, of Holden, faces prosecution on charges of oral sexual battery.