Naasón Joaquín García, leader of the La Luz del Mundo church, pleads guilty to sexual abuse of 3 minors

Mexican religious leader Naason Joaquin Garcia He pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual abuse of minors, the California attorney general said Friday.

The admission of culpability occurs a few days after the start of the trial in Los Angeles in which García, 53, would face more than 20 chargesincluding rape, extortion, and possession of child pornography, among other crimes perpetrated in California.

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Naason Joaquin Garcia, of Leader of the church The light of Worldadmitted two charges of forced oral sex including minors and another lewd act with a minor under 15 years of age.

“García used his power to take advantage of minors. He relied on his entourage to sexually abuse worshipers,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “Today’s conviction cannot reverse the damage, but it will help protect future generations.”

Followers of the Mexico-based Light of the World Pentecostal church take part in a baptism ceremony in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, on August 12, 2019. (AFP / Ulises Ruíz /)

The priest was arrested at the Los Angeles airport on June 3, 2019, and has been detained ever since.

Considered his accomplices, Susana Medina Oaxaca and Alondra Ocampo were captured along with him, who in 2020 pleaded guilty to three charges of contacting minors for sexual acts and one count of penetration sexual forced.

Garcia will hear his sentence on Wednesday, and is expected to face several years in prison.

Oaxaca also pleaded guilty and was convicted of assault. A third woman is on the run.

Light of World It was founded in 1926 in Guadalajara by García’s father, Eusebio Joaquín González, who claimed to have had a “divine revelation” in his dreams.

The congregation emerged as a branch of the Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus, a derivation of the Pentecostal Church, and its faithful, who are called “Aaronites”, require permission from the leading leaders to travel, study, work or marry. .

In March 2020, the Mexican authorities froze almost 20 million dollars in accounts of six people linked to the church La Light of World.

Source: Elcomercio