Megachurch leader jailed after admitting to sexually abusing young girls

The leader of an evangelical megachurch was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for the sexual abuse of three underage girls.

Naason Joaquin Garcia, president and self-proclaimed apostle of the Guadalajara-based church La Luz del Mundo (Light of the World), admitted to two counts of forced oral sex on a minor and committing lewd acts on a child as part of a plea agreement to avoid charges of far more serious offenses, including multiple counts of rape.

However, several of his accusers said they were not consulted about the agreement and condemned the sentence of 16 years and eight months as too lenient.

In victim impact statements delivered during Wednesday’s hearing in Los Angeles, all five said they felt deprived of the chance to confront Garcia more fully.

One of the unnamed accusers cried as she told Garcia: “We looked up to you, you were our God, and you betrayed us.”
You are nothing more than a predator and an abuser.”

Another, who identified herself as Garcia’s niece, said: “Naason and this church have ruined my life.”

Garcia’s conviction is the culmination of an investigation that began in 2018 and led to his arrest in Los Angeles the following year.
International Airport with a co-defendant, Susana Medina Oaxaca, who pleaded guilty last Friday to a charge of assault with a high probability.

La Luz del Mundo is the largest evangelical church in Mexico. Its origins date back to the 1920s, it has branches in 50 countries and counts around 5 million members.

When a Los Angeles judge ordered Garcia to stand trial in August 2020, the church released a statement defending its leader, saying he was wrongly accused, saying the charges against him were based on “unproven anonymous allegations” and “blatant hearsay.”