The longtime leader of the Mexico-based evangelical megachurch La Luz del Mundo -- who pleaded guilty in 2022 in a Los Angeles case for sex crimes involving three underage girls -- has been indicted with five other people by a federal grand jury on charges involving alleged sexual and financial crimes, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced Wednesday.
Authorities said Naasón Joaquín Garcia, 56, was taken into federal custody at the California Institution for Men in Chino, where he was serving a state prison sentence of 16 years and eight months for his guilty plea in the Los Angeles case to two counts of forcible oral copulation involving minors and one count of a lewd act upon a child who was 15 years old.
"As alleged in the indictment, for decades, Naasón Joaquín García and the other members of the Joaquín LLDM Enterprise used their position in and the resources of the La Luz del Mundo Church to sexually abuse girls, boys, and women," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement announcing the grand jury indictment. "They exploited the faith of their followers to prey upon them. When they were confronted, they leveraged their religious influence and financial power to intimidate and coerce victims into remaining silent about the abuse they had suffered."
The indictment also includes charges against "those who systemically aided Naasón's alleged sexual exploitation of teenagers and young women, including creating photos and videos of abuse and other unspeakable criminal conduct," Clayton said.
Garcia is charged with one count each of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, inducement to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity, conspiracy to sexually exploit children and child exploitation enterprise, and could face a maximum of life in prison if convicted as charged, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Also charged with various offenses are Eva Garcia De Joaquin, 79, who was arrested Wednesday morning in Los Angeles; Joram Nunez Joaquin, 37, who was taken into custody outside Chicago; along with Rosa Sosa, 59; Azalia Rangel Garcia, 46; and Silem Garcia Pena, 43, who are believed to be in Mexico and are facing arrest and extradition.
"A years-long investigation that spanned the country and involved the support of dozens of courageous victims culminated with today's charges stemming from decades of alleged exploitation and outright abuse of young woman and children," Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations, said in the statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office. "The defendants are accused of targeting individuals who gave LLDM Church their unquestioning trust and devotion and who in turn endured unimaginable crimes."
At Garcia's June 2022 sentencing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, five young women and some of their family members pleaded with Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen to set aside the plea agreement between Garcia and the California Attorney General's Office, saying they wanted the religious figure to face trial and more extensive incarceration.
The judge apologized to the women, saying, "My hands are tied" in terms of the sentence he could hand down. But he told them, "The world has heard you. I promise you that."
Speaking directly to Garcia, the judge said, "You are a sexual predator." Coen ordered Garcia to register as a sex offender for life.
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Coen noted then that he had been a judge for a long time and said that he never ceases to be amazed by what some people do in the name of religion. He also singled out family members who have "abandoned" some of the victims, saying, "Shame on you!"
In a statement released after the lengthy sentencing hearing in 2022, Light of the World referred to Garcia as "the Apostle" and said a "decision has been made to accept an agreement with the Attorney General's Office to minimize his prison sentence in order to regain his freedom."
Garcia "has had no choice but to accept with much pain that the agreement presented is the best way forward to protect the church and his family," according to the church's statement shortly after his June 2022 sentencing. "While he respects the law and the community, he does not believe that the trial he would receive under these conditions would be fair and just. He wishes to spare the church and his family from weeks of unfounded public accusations, including threats to their physical well-being."
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