Naasón Joaquín García

Overview

Naasón Joaquín García, self-proclaimed ‘apostle’ of the La Luz del Mundo megachurch and a publicly pro-Trump figure, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to sexually abusing three minors between 2015 and 2018. He was sentenced to 16 years 8 months in California state prison. He was federally indicted in 2023 on child pornography charges.

Description

Prosecutors with the California Attorney General’s office demonstrated that García used his position of trust and authority as the head of La Luz del Mundo to sexually abuse children, with co-defendants enabling the abuse. García pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible oral copulation with minors and one count of a lewd act upon a 15-year-old. Investigation began in 2018 and culminated in the 2019 arrests of García and co-defendants Susana Medina Oaxaca and Alondra Ocampo. In October 2023, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted García on two additional felony counts of producing and possessing child pornography involving a 16-year-old church follower. Victim testimony described sexual slavery and systemic abuse dating back at least to 2015.