Naasón Joaqun Garca, the Mexican megachurch leader, guilty of  child sex abuse.

One of the biggest Christian religious institutions in Latin America has been around for a long time; it is called La Luz del Mundo and is located in Guadalajara, Mexico. Although its leader, Naasón Joaqun Garca, is revered by millions of followers as an apostle of God, he entered a guilty plea on June 3 to allegations of child sex assault.

The 53-year-old was arrested in June 2019 at the Los Angeles International Airport, according to VICE. Garca had steadfastly defended his innocence for three years, but he has already agreed to a plea deal that gave him 16 years and eight months in jail. People were shocked by the allegations themselves.

The humiliated religious leader entered a plea of guilty to one count of a sexual act against a 15-year-old juvenile and two counts of forcible oral copulation involving minors. The arrests of three of his female subordinates, who are accused of grooming children for their own amusement, were particularly unsettling.

According to US Attorney General Rob Bonta, "[Naasón Joaqun Garca] used his influence to take advantage of minors." He relied on those close to him to 'groom' members of the congregation for sexual assault. The harm caused by the conviction cannot be reversed, but it will help safeguard future generations.

History Of The Church

Eusebio Joaqun González, the great-grandfather of Naasón Joaqun Garca, founded La Luz del Mundo, the largest evangelical church in Mecixo, in 1926.

He claimed that after establishing a church, God instructed him to adopt the name Aaron and to begin preaching the gospel. González's now-famous nickname was bestowed on him after God purportedly promised him that he would be the "light of the world" through this.

In the middle of the 1930s, González erected the first temple in Guadalajara and referred to himself as the Apostle of God on Earth. He preached an increasingly strict form of Christianity that required women to live in subjection to their husbands, wear long skirts and veils, and refrain from holding positions of authority.

Naasón Joaqun Garca's grandpa was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl and defrauding his flock, which led to the first controversy, which surfaced in 1942. Samuel Joaqun González, González's son, took over in the 1960s after a quarter of his parishioners left the church as a result of the claims. As Joaqun started imitating his aggressive father, things, however, only became worse.

In 1997, Karen León and Amparo Aguilar, two women, alleged that he sexually assaulted them when they were 13 years old in the 1980s. A man called Moises Padilla accused him of raping a 16-year-old boy on live television. Six months after disclosing his torture, Padilla was kidnapped and stabbed 57 times, but he fortunately survived.

There were four criminal complaints filed against Joaqun in total, none of which resulted in charges owing to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Alondra Ocampo, a young woman, was one of his victims. In a tragic turn of events, she not only remained a member of the church well into adulthood, but she also groomed children for Naasón Joaqun Garca, who succeeded his father following his death.

Naasón Joaquín García's Crime

Naasón Joaqun Garca, 45, was born on May 7, 1969, and became the head of La Luz del Mundo in 2014. According to Law & Crime, his followers sincerely believed his claim to be Jesus' one and only apostle on Earth. They were forced to face devastating news three years ago.

Authorities arrested Garcia, Alondra Ocampo, and a 24-year-old woman named Susana Medina Oaxaca in Los Angeles on June 3, 2019. Between 2015 and 2018, they were charged with over a dozen offenses committed in Los Angeles County.

Authorities seized Garca and Oaxaca's possessions after discovering video evidence of child rape and incest on their iPhones and iPads. This resulted in additional charges for offenses committed in 2019. While Naasón Joaqun Garca first denied any misconduct, Ocampo agreed to testify against him, resulting in his plea deal.