Naasón Joaquín García
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Naasón Joaquín García | |
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| International Director of the La Luz del Mundo Church | |
| Assumed office 14 December 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Joaquín Flores |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 May 1969 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico |
| Spouse | Alma Zamora |
| Parent(s) | Samuel Joaquín Flores Eva García López |
| Conviction(s) | Oral Copulation With a Minor (2 counts) Lewd Acts On A Child (1 count) |
| Criminal penalty | 16 years, 8 months |
Naasón Merarí Joaquín García (born on 7 May 1969) is a convicted sex offender, and the third leader of the La Luz del Mundo church, succeeding his father, Samuel Joaquín Flores. In 2020, he pled guilty in California to three charges related to sexually abusing children and was imprisoned for 16 years 8 months.
Early life
[edit]Joaquín García was born on 7 May 1969 in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, the fifth of seven children to Samuel Joaquín Flores and Eva García.[1]
Career
[edit]Before succeeding his father as head of La Luz del Mundo at 45,[2] he was a minister for the group in Santa Ana, California; he had previously served as minister for other congregations in cities throughout California (Huntington Park, San Diego, East Los Angeles, Santa Maria) and Arizona.[1]
Arrest and legal proceedings
[edit]On 3 June 2019, Joaquín García was arrested and charged by prosecutors from Los Angeles County with sexual abuse charges involving minors.[3][4][5] Susana Medina Oaxaca and Alondra Ocampo were also charged. Joaquín García was held on $50 million bail, Ocampo on $25 million, and Oaxaca remained free on bail. A fourth defendant, Azalea Rangel Melendez, who was previously charged with rape, remained at large. In addition, a federal lawsuit against the church and Joaquín García alleging that he and his father regularly sexually abused a Southern California girl from the time she was twelve until she was eighteen was still pending as of July 2020[update].[6]
Two days before his trial in June 2022, Joaquín Garcia pleaded guilty to three charges related to sexually abusing children.[7] On 8 June 2022, he was convicted and sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison.[8]
He was transferred to North Kern State Prison for evaluations to determine his placement within the prison system.[9] He was to also undergo a civil trial on charges including human trafficking and forced labor; a RICO suit named him, the organization called Light of the World, his mother, his wife, his brother, and many of the leaders of the organization.[10] Federal criminal investigations were pending in both the United States and Mexico.[11] As of April 2023[update], he is held in the California Institution for Men in Chino, California.[12]
In October 2023, Joaquín Garcia was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges relating to the production and possession of child pornography.[13]
Personal life
[edit]Joaquín Garcia is married to Alma Zamora; they have three children.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Es Naasón Joaquín García, nuevo líder de La Luz del Mundo". Crónica Jalisco (in Spanish). 15 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ "Naasón Merarí Joaquín García: El 'apóstol' del poder". Eje Central (in Spanish). 6 June 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ Garcia, Blanca (9 June 2019). "La Luz del Mundo Church Leader Accused of Sex Crimes". Santa Barbara Independent. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Cosgrove, Jaclyn; Johnson, Reed; Miller, Leila (4 June 2019). "Leader of La Luz Del Mundo religious group arrested on suspicion of rape, child porn". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Miller, Leila (22 June 2019). "Sex abuse charges against La Luz del Mundo leader are the 'tip of the iceberg,' prosecutors say". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ "Child rape charges refiled against Mexican megachurch leader". AP News. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "La Luz del Mundo church leader pleads guilty to sex abuse charges". Los Angeles Times. 3 June 2022. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ "Mexican megachurch leader gets more than 16 years for abuse". ABC News. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
- ^ "The Light of the World: Naasón Joaquín is changed from jail for this reason". Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- ^ "Home Page". Today90. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ Albeck-Ripka, Livia (9 June 2022). "Leader of Mexican Church Is Sentenced to 16 Years for Sex Crimes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer". inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ Tran, Emi Tuyetnhi (26 October 2023). "Head of megachurch, in prison for sex abuse, is charged with producing child pornography". NBC News. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ "Naasón Joaquín García: quién es líder de La Luz del Mundo (biografía)". www.milenio.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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