Church response here:
Naasón Joaquín García, leader of the La Luz del Mundo church, negotiates a plea deal days before the trial begins on charges of sexual abuse of minors, according to sources close to the investigation who told Univision News.
This movement occurs a few days after the selection of the jury began that would analyze his case in the Los Angeles Superior Court, in California, and would prevent the leader of the Light of the World from going to trial.
The next hearing is Wednesday, June 8. Prosecutors and lawyers, outside the court, declined to confirm this Friday afternoon if Joaquín García had reached an agreement.
The prosecution would ask for 17 years in prison, for which he would spend a maximum of 14 years since he has been behind bars for three, according to the same sources.
Joaquín García, 53, has been in a Los Angeles jail for three years since his arrest on June 3, 2019 upon his arrival at the Los Angeles airport. He had pleaded not guilty and had bail set at $90 million, the highest in state history.
The self-appointed 'Apostle of Jesus Christ' faces 19 criminal charges, including rape of a minor, possession of child pornography, and human trafficking. Five women from his church accused him of having recruited them, through other maidens, to form a "special" group that served him food, but also performed lap dances and participated in orgies.
Defense attorneys feared he would spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of all the crimes, they warned in a motion filed with the court.
The selection of the 12 US citizens who would judge him was scheduled for this Monday and it had been set that on the 13th of this month the initial arguments of the prosecutors and defense attorneys would be heard, to then give rise to the presentation of the witnesses. .
"He wants to prevent them from exhibiting him because that would take away all credibility, " a source informed of a meeting between defense attorneys and prosecutors in which Naasón Joaquín's guilty plea was considered.
He went to court this Friday.
According to the page of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, the "Apostle" went to the Los Angeles Superior Court at 8:30 am this Friday. The reason for his visit is not mentioned. At that time, prosecutors and the pastor's lawyers were seen in court.
Californian prosecutors notified the alleged victims that Naasón Joaquín considered pleading guilty and they asked him to do so on each of the 19 charges against him, according to two sources familiar with the judicial process.
The California government had assured in court that it had enough evidence to convict the Mexican pastor, including multiple images of child pornography found on his iPhone, text messages and a video in which he allegedly participates in a sexual threesome with a minor. about 15 or 16 years old.
This case includes Susana Medina Oaxaca, who was an assistant to the minister and was arrested at his side three years ago. She had pleaded not guilty and was free on $150,000 bond.
A few days ago, in the temples of La Luz del Mundo, a letter written by Naasón Joaquín was read in which he stated that he would face the trial "with dignity" and warned of the possibility -according to him- that during or after the process the faithful and temples could be subject to attack.
“I know that the only thing they are going to be able to do against me is expose me. Nothing they accuse me of can be proven, because I never did it," said the letter, read by a pastor, who assures that he is accused of an alleged legal tactic "based mainly on publicly exhibiting myself."
"This trial favors the exacerbation of the spirits of prejudiced, malicious and fanatical people who do not understand or live in respect for their neighbor, giving rise to the fact that while the trial is taking place or after the trial, they could carry out aggressive actions against the brothers or to the temples, product of discrimination, religious hatred and not recognizing the right to religious freedom”, states the letter from Naasón Joaquín.
The church, with more than a million faithful in several countries, has defended its leader tooth and nail. He assured that he would free each of the accusations, which he considered unfounded.
The testimony of Alondra Ocampo
On Wednesday, Judge Ronald S. Coen outlined Wednesday what the trial would look like. For example, he approved that a press camera broadcast all the hearings, but did not film the faces of the complainants.
He also agreed to show the jury a video in which Joaquín García and Medina Oaxaca appear to be having sexual relations, as described by the California Prosecutor's Office in court.
The recording would serve to explain how they sexually abused one of the complainants, who was a minor when the events occurred, in the pastor's room at his residence in East Los Angeles.
At the request of prosecutors, the magistrate approved the testimony of Alondra Ocampo, the woman who claimed in her guilty plea that she recruited three teenagers from the East Los Angeles temple to become Joaquín García's handmaidens.
She is awaiting her sentencing hearing at the end of the year and may ask for a reduced sentence for cooperating with authorities.
Prosecutor Jeffrey Segal said that Ocampo's story was essential to show that there was a conspiracy to sexually abuse minor worshipers and that Naasón Joaquín was in charge of it.
She would tell the court how she was recruited at the time of Samuel Joaquín Flores, who led the church for 50 years and until his death in 2014. When her son Naasón Joaquín took charge of the congregation, he called her to be a recruiter of girls Segal said.
Ocampo accepted even though she was 32 years old, married, and had drifted away from the church. It was because Naasón Joaquín "threatened her that she would have her husband killed if she didn't" and told her that her father had died of cancer because she betrayed him, according to Segal.
He also promised him that his reward was the salvation of his soul and his return to a privileged position in the congregation. Ocampo thought it would be a "blessing" and a way to ensure that he would be reunited with his dead sister in heaven, the state attorney said.
"She experienced rape and all those things that the 'Apostle' did to her," said Segal, who said that in Ocampo's mind "she served the 'Apostle of Jesus Christ.'"