The disgraced ex-leader of a Mexican megachurch was sentenced on Wednesday in a California courtroom to almost 17 years in jail for sexually abusing three ladies.
Naasón Joaquín García, chief and self-styled apostle of the Guadalajara-based church La Luz del Mundo (Gentle of the World), pleaded responsible final Friday in Los Angeles to 2 counts of forcible oral copulation involving minors and performing a lewd act on a baby.
García, 53, entered his plea three days earlier than he was to face trial on 23 felony counts of intercourse crimes towards kids, together with a number of fees of rape, conspiracy to interact in human trafficking and baby pornography.
“Because the chief of La Luz del Mundo, Naasón Joaquín García used his energy to benefit from kids,” Lawyer Common Rob Bonta mentioned Friday. “He relied on these round him to groom congregants for the needs of sexual assault. At present’s conviction can by no means undo the hurt, however it would assist defend future generations.”
A number of of his accusers, every recognized in court docket solely as Jane Doe and who at the moment are younger adults, decried the plea settlement as too lenient, saying they weren’t consulted within the deal that García reached with the California lawyer basic’s workplace.
In victim-impact statements delivered throughout Wednesday’s listening to, all 5 mentioned they felt robbed of their likelihood to extra absolutely confront García, who sat together with his again to his accusers as every tearfully addressed their anguish at him.
The primary sufferer mentioned she was compelled to carry out day by day intercourse acts for years as she additionally needed to clear his lavatory and wash his garments.
Jane Doe No. 3 choked again sobs as she addressed him: “We regarded as much as you, you had been our god, and also you betrayed us. You’re not more than a predator and an abuser.”
Jane Doe No. 4, who recognized herself as García’s niece, mentioned in her testimony that when he raped her, he would pressure her to present thanks, again and again. She mentioned she misplaced “every thing” due to him. “Naasón and this church have ruined my life.”
The accuser added that García stole her innocence and that she believed he was God.
“He made me his property, I used to be his property,” she advised the courtroom.
Based within the Twenties by García’s grandfather, La Luz del Mundo is the most important evangelical church in Mexico, with thousands and thousands of followers throughout a number of international locations.
One other one among García’s accusers advised the court docket that he was avoiding accountability by claiming by means of the church to have acquiesced to a plea deal beneath duress and wrongly accused.
The church, which has publicly stood by García, issued an announcement on Twitter reiterating its assist, saying that “our confidence in him stays intact with full data of his integrity, his conduct and his work.”
One among his followers advised Noticias Telemundo on Wednesday that “his honor will not be unsure” as many defend his management.
Patricia Fortuny, a Mexican anthropologist who has studied La Luz del Mundo, advised the Los Angeles Instances that the church gained’t “lose its reputation from in the future to a different” and will survive the scandal by portraying García as “a sufferer that has been destroyed by the unjust world.”
“Your honor, this abuser thinks your courtroom is a joke. Even after he accepted the plea deal, he’s sending messages to the church that he’s harmless,” the accuser mentioned.
Ultimately, Superior Court docket Choose Ronald Cohen pronounced the sentence really useful by prosecutors — 16 years and eight months in jail, in search of to guarantee the victims, “The world has heard you. I promise you that.” García additionally will likely be registered as a intercourse offender for all times.
García, wearing orange jail garb, made no assertion through the proceedings and was led away in handcuffs when the listening to ended.
In return for his responsible plea, prosecutors dismissed nearly all of the fees he confronted, together with essentially the most severe offenses, in a case that initially stemmed from allegations of 5 victims relationship from mid-2015 to early 2018.
His sentencing caps an investigation that started in 2018 resulting in his arrest the next 12 months at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport.
Two different church associates charged with García have reached separate plea offers. Susana Medina Oaxaca pleaded responsible final Friday to a cost of assault more likely to trigger nice bodily hurt. She was sentenced to at least one 12 months of probation and 6 months of psychiatric counseling.
A second co-defendant, Alondra Ocampo, additionally arrested in 2019, pleaded responsible in 2020 to a few felony counts of contact with a minor for functions of committing a sexual offense and one depend of forcible sexual penetration. Ocampo, not but sentenced, had beforehand confronted a number of counts of human trafficking and different fees.
A fourth individual charged within the investigation, Azalea Rangel Melendez, stays at massive, prosecutors mentioned.
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