The leader of the evangelical church La Luz del Mundo, Naasón Joaquín García, reached an agreement with the Prosecutor's Office to avoid going to trial and reduce a possible sentence for accusations of sexual abuse of minors in California, reported the state attorney general's office it's a statement.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said Garcia had pleaded guilty to multiple crimes, including sexual assaults on three minors.
His trial was scheduled to begin this Monday with jury selection.
"Today's conviction sends a clear message that sexual exploitation is never acceptable in California. We will punish you if you break the law," Bonta said.
Naasón Joaquín García, the leader of La Luz del Mundo, an evangelical church based in Guadalajara, Mexico, with more than 1 million followers around the world. Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
Garcia, who calls himself
an apostle of Jesus Christ,
was arrested June 3, 2019, at Los Angeles International Airport after he got off his private jet exactly three years ago.
He has carried out his entire process from jail in California, after a judge imposed a historic bail of 90 million dollars.
Although he came to face up to 36 charges for different alleged crimes,
he is currently charged with 19 accusations
, including sexual abuse of minors, rape, possession of child pornography and human trafficking.
[Pornographic videos and testimonies of sexual abuse: the details of how the trial of the leader of La Luz del Mundo will be]
Five women who have requested anonymity in Los Angeles County Superior Court accuse the leader of the evangelical congregation of forcing them to take nude or scantily clad photos and videos, participate in orgies and other sexual acts.
The plaintiffs agree that Garcia abused them when they were still minors.
These events would have occurred in Los Angeles between June 2015 and June 2019.
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In addition to the testimonies of his alleged victims, the Prosecutor's Office has also included
hundreds of videos and photos
stored in multiple electronic devices confiscated in one of the residences of La Luz del Mundo in East Los Angeles.
Prosecutors have claimed that the footage confidently shows the church leader and his accomplices engaging in sexual acts with minors.
["It's not a religion, it's a mafia": the woman who uncovered the abuse scandal in La Luz del Mundo files a civil lawsuit]
Xavier Becerra, who was California's attorney general when the case against the religious leader was brought and now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, at the time described Garcia as "a sick being."
“You don't do that to children, you don't do that to adults.
One does not hide behind some religious veil,” Becerra said then.
García pleaded not guilty in 2019 in a first trial against him that had to be dismissed in April 2020 due to procedural errors on the part of the Prosecutor's Office, for which he had to start over.
Sochil Martin was the first woman to denounce alleged sexual abuse by the leaders of La Luz del Mundo.
She is now 33 years old, but claims to have been subjected to sexual abuse by Naasón since she was 16. She “got used” to seeing him as something “normal” because her friends and family were also abused while growing up within the congregation.