Longtime head of Mexican megachurch is indicted in New York on federal sex trafficking charges

Naason Joaquin Garcia, the leader of a Mexico-based evangelical church with a worldwide membership, attends a bail review hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 15, 2019. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

NEW YORK — The longtime head of a Mexican megachurch who is serving more than 16 years in a California prison for sexually abusing young followers has been charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking for allegedly victimizing members of the church for decades, federal authorities said Wednesday.

A New York grand jury returned the indictment alleging that Naasón Joaquín García, 56, and five others, including his 79-year-old mother, exploited the church for decades, enabling the systemic sexual abuse of children and women for the sexual gratification of García and his father, who died in 2014.

The newly unsealed indictment said the criminal activity included the creation of photos and videos of child sexual abuse and had begun after the church was founded a century ago by Garcia’s grandfather, who died in 1964. Garcia’s father, Samuel Joaquin Flores, led the church from then until his death.

Sexual abuse alleged to have occurred for over 50 years

The indictment said the sexual abuse went on for so many decades that many of the grandfather’s victims were mothers of girls and women abused by García’s father and many of the father’s victims were the mothers of girls and women abused by García.

The indictment listed 13 female victims anonymously and specifically, describing when they were allegedly attacked while they were under the age of consent. Some victims, it said, were as young as 13.

The church is based in Guadalajara, Mexico, and there are church locations throughout the United States, including in California, New York, Nevada, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., according to the indictment.

In a court document seeking detention of all indicted without bail, prosecutors said sex trafficking of women and children occurred as a result of the case in the U.S., Mexico, Europe, Asia, Africa and elsewhere.

García was taken into federal custody early Wednesday in Chino, California, where he is serving a sentence after pleading guilty in 2022 to two state counts.

His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The church’s followers considered García to be the ‘apostle’ of Jesus Christ

García is the head of La Luz del Mundo (The Light of the World), which claims to have five million followers worldwide. Believers consider him to be the “apostle” of Jesus Christ.

Federal authorities said that he used his spiritual sway to have sex with girls and young women who were told it would lead to their salvation — or damnation if they refused. His efforts were enabled by others, including his mother, who helped groom the girls to be sexually abused, they said.

Prosecutors said García also directed girls, boys and women to engage in group sex with each other, often in his presence, for his sexual gratification.

Sometimes, they added, he required the children to wear masks so they would not realize they were having incestual sex.

García’s 79-year-old mother portrayed as key member of conspiracy

Besides García, his mother, Eva García De Joaquín, was taken into custody in Los Angeles. A third defendant, Joram Nunez Joaquín, was arrested in Chicago, authorities said. Three others were at large and were believed to be in Mexico, where authorities said extraditions would be sought.

The indictment said De Joaquín on at least one occasion held down a girl so that her husband — García’s father — could rape her.

Nunez Joaquín falsely held himself out as a lawyer working on behalf of the church as he tried to prevent sexual abuse victims from reporting the abuse to law enforcement, the indictment said.

A message seeking comment was sent to the law firm representing Nunez Joaquín. It was not immediately clear who would represent De Joaquín at a Los Angeles court appearance Wednesday.

According to the indictment, two of the defendants and others tried to destroy evidence and prevent victims of the sexual abuse from speaking to law enforcement after García was arrested.

It said they pressured victims to sign false declarations disclaiming that any abuse occurred, drafted and distributed sermons stating that all sexual abuse victims were lying and reinforced church doctrine that doubting the apostle was a sin punishable by eternal damnation.

García family alleged to have lived opulent lifestyle

The indictment said church followers were required to forward a portion of their income to the church, a portion of which would fund the García family’s extravagant lifestyle, which included luxury cars, watches, designer clothing and first-class travel worldwide.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said García and the others “exploited the faith of their followers to prey upon them.”

He added: “When they were confronted, they leveraged their religious influence and financial power to intimidate and coerce victims into remaining silent about the abuse they had suffered.”

Ricky J. Patel, the head of the New York office of Homeland Security Investigations, said the charges resulted from a “yearslong investigation that spanned the country and involved the support of dozens of courageous victims.”

Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press