First modification:
Naasón Joaquín García was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to three of the 19 charges against him. In a United States court he faced complaints related to child abuse and the judge branded him a “sexual predator.” After an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, he avoided prosecution for possession of child pornography and human trafficking.
The leader of the church of the Light of the World, the Mexican Naasón Joaquín García, received 16 years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to three charges related to sexual abuse of minors.
After a day of hearing, Los Angeles court judge Ronald S. Coen gave him the highest possible punishment for the three causes of sexual assault on minor victims.
The 53-year-old religious leader was labeled by the notoriously angry magistrate as a “sexual predator”. The sentence was the highest he could receive after reaching an agreement with the California District Attorney last Friday.
“SHAME, SHAME ON YOU!”: California judge scolds families for abandoning sexual abuse survivors before sentencing self-declared “apostle” #NaasónJoaquínGarcía to more than a decade and a half in prison. “You are a sexual predator,” the judge told the disgraced megachurch leader. pic.twitter.com/AkYBQT0eX4
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) June 8, 2022
In the agreement, the Mexican avoided ending up in front of the stand for the 19 charges against him, which included possession of child pornography, rape of minors and human trafficking.
García will have to return to court on August 18 to define the value of the monetary restitution that he must give to the victims. Also, after completing his sentence, he will have to register as a sex offender.
Shadows of the Light of the World
The non-trinitarian Christian church La Luz del Mundo, whose international headquarters are located in Guadalajara, was founded in 1926 by Naasón’s grandfather, Aarón Joaquín.
It currently has a presence in 60 different countries and its records show that it has up to five million followers.
The subsidiary that this entity has in Los Angeles did not make any official statement regarding the sentence of its leader. Several leaders of the organization and Uziel Joaquín García, brother of the accused, were present at the hearing.
The women mentioned in the accusation of the Californian Prosecutor’s Office gave harsh testimonies, in English or Spanish, describing how the abuses, rapes and manipulations to which they were subjected were.
One of the victims, identified as Jane Doe 4, said Garcia enforced her wishes as if they were “orders from God” and forced her “to say thank you over and over again.”
Former members of La Luz del Mundo who spoke in court said they were disappointed in the settlement approved by the California Attorney’s Office of Rob Bonta, because they were not consulted.
On the other hand, Jane Doe 4 begged the judge to extend the jail time, but he said his hands were tied to increase the sentence.
with EFE
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