The five anonymous young women whose complaints led to the imprisonment for pederasty of Naasón Joaquín García, leader of the La Luz del Mundo church, filed a civil lawsuit in a California state court on Thursday.
The 49-page complaint was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, a state court in the center of the city, pointing to four crimes: sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and gender violence.
This criminal action comes three months after Naasón Joaquín received a reduced sentence of 16 years and 8 months in prison following a controversial plea agreement.
The California Prosecutor's Office had said that it had a mountain of evidence confirming that the pastor had secret groups of women who recruited girls and adolescents who pleased him sexually. But last June he agreed to a deal that dropped 16 of 19 charges and freed him from life in prison.
The leader of La Luz del Mundo could be released in March 2031, five years before his sentence is fully served, for his good behavior in prison and other credits granted by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) .
The 53-year-old pastor is in North Kern State Prison, in California's Central Valley, waiting to be sent to prison where he will serve the remainder of his sentence. That process could take up to 120 days. He is expected to be placed in a special unit for the crimes he committed, for being the leader of a church that claims to have five million followers, and for his fortune.
“I had never seen a case with more evidence against an individual, against a church… The fact that Naasón was able to get away with a reduced sentence of 16 and a half years in prison, which will possibly be reduced, is one of the greatest injustices that I imagined,” said Jonati Joey Yedidsion, a lawyer for the five victims of Naasón Joaquín, in an interview with this medium.
“So this is our chance to really hold the church, its highest-ranking members, and Naasón accountable for what they did,” added Yedidsion Law Group, the head of the law firm.
The lawyer said that the lawsuit has been filed against Naasón Joaquín, "several relatives" of his, the church La Luz del Mundo and the three assistants to the pastor mentioned in the criminal case for being groomers or preparers of girls: Alondra Ocampo, Susana Medina Oaxaca and Azalea Rangel.
Ocampo pleaded guilty to four counts and is awaiting sentencing in a Los Angeles women's jail, which was scheduled for Oct. 12. Medina Oaxaca also accepted her crimes and sentenced her to time served. While Rangel has been a fugitive from justice for three years.
“There are countless victims”
“The lawsuit does not include all the specific facts of the abuse, but it alleges several specific incidents: it goes from the indoctrination process of the five Jane Does, also to the specific abuse that Naasón committed, which people in the church were or should have been aware of that. , which individuals or recruiters also participated in the abuse,” Yedidsion explained.
The legal defender of the five Jane Does, as identified anonymously by the California Prosecutor's Office, indicated that this lawsuit is open for other complainants to join.
“There is no doubt in my mind that there are countless victims not only of Naasón, but of his father (Samuel Joaquín Flores) and the church in general. What I wish is that any other victim comes forward, because the more people speak out, the greater the credibility of these lawsuits,” said Yedidsion.
“Perhaps there are other Jane Does who were minor victims of Naason; perhaps there are other victims of Samuel in California. The statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse is open to anyone who was ever sexually abused as a minor in California. This has been a generational situation where church members have been abused by the 'Apostles,'” she added.
This civil lawsuit demands compensation that is not yet specified. “My goal is to financially compensate for what each of the plaintiffs lost: her innocence, her childhood, her faith, her family, her support. It is my job to let the court, the jury and the world know what the actions of this church and these 'apostles' did to the victims… I believe that there is no money in the world that can erase the scars that they will have to live and suffer for the rest of their lives”, said the lawyer.
Regarding his clients, Yedidsion said that the criminal case traumatized them and left them distrustful of criminal proceedings, that some of them continue to receive threats and harassment on social networks, but that they are trying to rebuild their lives. Jane Doe 4 was pregnant when she gave explicit testimony in court about the abuse she suffered by her uncle Naasón Joaquín. Her pregnancy was complicated when she found out about the agreement made by prosecutors and defense attorneys. The delivery, fortunately, went well. "Her baby is alive and happy," said the lawyer.
This is the third lawsuit faced by the highest pastor of La Luz del Mundo. Another victim, Sochil Martin, filed a lawsuit against him in federal court in Los Angeles. He was also sued in Los Angeles County court by a young woman identified by the initials 'HF'.