Leader of Mexican megachurch with 5 million worldwide followers could spend more than 16 years in a California prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three girls
- Naasón Joaquín García is looking at spending more than 16 years in a California jail after the Mexican megachurch leader plead guilty to child rape
- The 53-year-old pleaded guilty Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court to two counts of forcible oral copulation involving minors
- He was the leader of the La Luz del Mundo church in Guadalajara, Mexico. It has 5 million worldwide followers, including 1 million in the United States
- He also pleased guilty to one count of a lewd act upon a child who was 15
- Co-defendant Alondra Ocampo, who served was in court Friday and pleaded guilty to abusing girls
- Suzana Medina Oaxaca pleaded guilty Friday to assault likely to cause great bodily injury
The leader of a Mexican megachurch, who was viewed as an ‘apostle’ of Jesus Christ, is looking at more than 16 years in a California jail, after he is sentenced Wednesday for sexually abusing three girls.
Naasón Joaquín García, 53, had vigorously fought charges that included child rape, until abruptly accepting a plea deal on the eve of trial.
García is the leader of the La Luz del Mundo church, which has 5 million followers worldwide — including 1 million inside the US alone.
He pleaded guilty Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court to two counts of forcible oral copulation involving minors and one count of a lewd act upon a child who was 15.
García, 50, and his co-defendant Susana Medina Oaxaca, 27, were arrested in June 3, 2019 after stepping off a plane at Los Angeles International Airport.
Church youth group leader Alondra Ocampo was apprehended in Los Angeles the same day.
Prosecutors said García used his spiritual influence to have sex with several female followers and was aided by others in the church who facilitated the abuse.
The Justice Department says the case in the result of an investigation launched in 2018 that probed alleged crimes that occurred in Los Angeles County dating back to at least 2015
Naasón Joaquín García leads a service at his church, La Luz del Mundo, in Guadalajara, Mexico on August 9, 2018
La Luz del Mundo, a church based in Guadalajara, Mexico, has about 5 million worldwide followers
García (pictured during a July 2019 court hearing in Los Angeles) used his influence as a spiritual leader to have sex with several female followers
Ocampo, who previously pleaded guilty to abusing the girls, was charged with directing teenage girls in skimpy outfits to perform ‘flirty’ dances for García.
She also conducted nude photo shoots for García in which the girls touched each other, according to the charges.
Ocampo told girls that if they rebuffed the wishes and desires of ‘the apostle,’ they were going against God, according to the charges.
García told the girls after they danced for him that a king could have mistresses and that ‘an apostle of God can never be judged for his actions,’ according to the charges against him.
Ocampo was prepared to take the stand against him, her attorney Fred Thiagarajah said.
‘She actively recruited and groomed girls for him,’ Thiagarajah said. ‘She would target girls and bring them into his inner fold. She was tasked with sexualizing these girls and facilitating their abuse.’
Naasón Joaquín García greets his followers during an August 14, 2018 mass at the Luz Del Mundo church in Guadalajara, Mexico
WHAT IS LA LUZ DEL MUNDO CHURCH?
La Luz Del Mundo was founded in 1926 in Mexico by Naasón Joaquín García’s grandfather, Eusebio Joaquín González, who said he had received a ‘divine revelation.’
The church is headquartered in Guadalajara, Mexico, and claims five million followers worldwide.
The congregation adheres to nontrinitarianism, rejecting a mainstream Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. It says it adheres to the earliest beliefs of the Christian church teachings.
Naasón, his father, Samuel, and his grandfather are regarded as modern-day apostles of Jesus.
The church does not use crosses or religious images in its worship services. Female members follow a dress code that includes long skirts and use head coverings during services.
More than half a million followers gathered in Guadalajara for six days in August 2018 to perform their 80th ‘holy supper,’ one of the largest religious ceremonies in the world — with mass baptisms, 600,000 loaves of bread, 20,000 liters of wine and attendants dressed in white straining to touch García as he arrived at the church’s headquarters escorted by his ‘royal guard.’
García had been scheduled to go on trial Monday on 19 counts that also included allegations of human trafficking to produce child pornography.
A judge had thrown out four counts of extortion and sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury for lack of evidence.
Medina Oaxaca pleaded guilty Friday to assault likely to cause great bodily injury, a misdemeanor.
Defense lawyers had said prosecutors were operating under a far-fetched legal theory that García used spiritual coercion for sexual pleasure.
‘It is a fantasy seemingly invented out of whole cloth,’ defense attorney Alan Jackson wrote in a court filing.
But prosecutors said the victims were essentially brainwashed by García and felt they would be ostracized by the insular church community if they didn’t submit to his desires.
In denying a defense motion to dismiss the case, a judge said García used religion as ‘invisible handcuffs’ to exploit his victims.
García’s grandfather founded the Guadalajara-based fundamentalist Christian church – known by its English name, The Light of the World – in 1926.
García took over as ‘apostle’ after his father, Samuel Joaquín Flores, died in 2014.
Flores was also the subject of child sex abuse allegations in 1997, but authorities in Mexico never filed criminal charges.
The La Luz del Mundo church has tried to cultivate a law-abiding, hard-working image in Mexico – where it counts about 1.8 million followers.
Its male members favor suits and short hair, and female members wear veils that cover their hair and modest dresses.
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