AMITE, La. -- Jury selection began Tuesday for one of seven members of a now-defunct south Louisiana church who were accused of having sex with children as part of occult rituals.

WWL-TV

Hosanna Church

Approximately 80 potential jurors showed up at the courthouse Tuesday for the trial of Austin "Trey" Bernard III, 39, of Hammond.

Bernard was a member of Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula. He is accused of three counts of aggravated rape, including two counts involving a 2-year-old girl and one involving a juvenile boy. Conviction would mean life in prison for Bernard. Prosecutors decided against seeking the death penalty.

State District Judge Doug Hughes told potential jurors he expects the trial to last four or five days. However, public defender Al Bensabat, who represents Bernard, said it will be difficult to get a jury in Tangipahoa Parish, where the case has drawn extensive publicity. "It's been tried in the press for two years," Bensabat said.

Bernard is one of seven Hosanna members indicted in 2005 on charges of having sex with children. The case also includes allegations of the ritual killings of dogs and cats. The alleged abuse of two boys and one girl was at the center of the 2005 investigation, but Bernard faces charges only for allegedly abusing the girl.

Last week, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge rejected defense appeals concerning the testimony of possible state witnesses.

Hughes ruled on Oct. 9 that two young men, now ages 21 and 17, can take the witness stand, even though the prosecution and defense attorneys told the judge that they anticipate they will testify that they were not abused when they were minors. If so, their testimony would conflict with previous statements the men gave to psychiatrists and law enforcement authorities that they were abused, attorneys have said in court hearings.

The men also are considered witnesses to the abuse of the girl, Wall has said. The girl is not expected to testify.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)