A member of the now-closed Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula was found guilty on three counts of aggravated child rape by a Tangipahoa Parish jury Monday.

The jury took about two hours to convict Austin Trey Bernard of raping a young girl and two young boys, though the boys took the stand during the trial and recanted previous statements of abuse.

The guilty verdict required at least 10 votes from the 12 jurors. Two of the guilty verdicts were unanimous and the other was 11 out of 12.

Bernard’s ex-wife Nicole, who was a key in bringing the sordid case of alleged abuse to light, cried at the verdict but had no sympathy for her former spouse.

“They are not insane,” she said of her husband and others accused of abuse. “They are just evil, perverted people.”

Bernard’s mother also cried, but afterward claimed the decision was unfair. She said she couldn’t believe that the jury disregarded the two young boys who said they were not harmed.

“It was a hard case for our side,” said defense attorney Al Bensabat, who added that it was an uphill battle trying to overcome previous statements Bernard had made, confessing to the crime.

Since Wednesday, the jury has listened to witnesses for the state, at least six hours of taped interviews of children and Bernard's taped confessions to law enforcement authorities. They also read hundreds of pages of written confessions by Bernard and two children detailing the alleged abuse.

Former Hosanna Church Pastor Louis Lamonica will face trial next, though District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said he did not have a specific date.