La Luz del Mundo: Mexican church leader faces child rape and sex crime charges

Church claims leader charged with human trafficking is apostle of Jesus Christ

Naason Joaquin Garcia was being held with bail set at $25m over allegations that he abused children as the leader of La Luz del Mundo (AP)

The leader of La Luz del Mundo, a church headquartered in Mexico that claims to have more than one million followers worldwide, was charged on Tuesday with more than a dozen sex crimes.

The charges include allegations that he forced children to have sex and made them pose naked for photos, the authorities in Los Angeles said.

Naasón Joaquín García was arrested on Monday at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the California attorney general’s office.

Mr García is considered by La Luz del Mundo, which has locations in the Los Angeles area, to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.

Three other people affiliated with the organisation were also charged on Tuesday, according to the attorney general’s office. One of those was also arrested at the Los Angeles airport, another was arrested elsewhere in Los Angeles County and officials were still seeking the arrest of the fourth person, the attorney general’s office said.

In a 19-page complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, prosecutors said there were four victims, three of whom were children. One child and a woman were raped, prosecutors said in the complaint.

Mr García is also accused of human trafficking and forcing children to perform oral sex.

The crimes occurred from 2015 until 2018 in Los Angeles County, officials said.

One of those arrested told a group of girls that if they went against the desires of Mr García, “they were going against god,” according to the complaint.

Children were told to perform “flirty” dances for Mr García wearing “as little clothing as possible,” according to the complaint.

The complaint said Mr García gave a group of children “a speech about a king having mistresses and stated that an apostle of god can never be judged for his actions.”

“Crimes like those alleged in this complaint have no place in our society. Period,” California attorney general Xavier Becerra said in a statement on Tuesday. “We must not turn a blind eye to sexual violence and trafficking in our state.”

The attorney general’s office said it began its investigation in 2018 after someone sent information to the “clergy abuse online complaint form.”

Prosecutors did not answer further questions about the case, the investigation or the organisation, saying Mr García and the other defendants were expected to be arraigned on Wednesday.

Mr García was being held with bail set at $25m (£19.66m), the attorney general’s office said. It was not clear whether Mr García had retained a lawyer.

Calls and an email to the church headquarters in Guadalajara were not immediately answered on Tuesday evening.

People are seen outside the International Headquarters of the "La Luz Del Mondo" (the Light of the World) in Guadalajara State of Jalisco, Mexico (AFP/Getty Images)

“We categorically deny those false accusations,” David Correa, a spokesperson from the headquarters of La Luz del Mundo told The Associated Press. “We know him personally and he is an honourable and honest man.”

Mr Correa said they were still reviewing the allegations.

La Luz del Mundo, which translates to “The Light of the World” in English, was founded in 1926, according to the church’s website. It claims to have more than 1 million followers worldwide and has been deemed by religious experts as one of the fastest growing religious groups in the country.

It teaches that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and that church leaders, like Mr García, are his apostles. Its main building in Guadalajara is a soaring white and gold structure with a tiered roof that is often lit up in rainbow colours at night.

Samuel Joaquín Flores, the previous church leader, who died in 2014, was subject to child sex abuse allegations reported in local media but no charges were ever brought against him. He reportedly denied those allegations.

Questions have also been raised about the church’s political connections and influence, including reports last month that an opera concert at a well-known cultural centre, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, was held in part to celebrate Mr García’s 50th birthday.

Only hours after the announcement of his arrest, several opinion leaders in Mexico expressed outrage on social media over the alleged tribute paid to Mr García last month.

The concert held at the Palacio de Bellas Artes stirred controversy, with critics saying Mexico’s secular state could not use public venues for religious purposes. The secretary of culture, Alejandra Frausto, denied granting a request for such homage, saying it was only supposed to be a concert.

“Bellas Artes has been used to pay tribute to someone who has just been detained for pederasty and child pornography,” Esteban Illades, a journalist, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “There must be consequences, and serious ones, for the secretary of culture after this.”

The New York Times