Los Angeles, CA - Apostle of La Luz Del Mundo Church Faces Dozen of Sexual Assault Charges

Leader of Mexican Megachurch, Apostle of La Luz del Mundo, Charged with Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking

According to Mercury News, the leader of the Apostle of La Luz del Mundo was charged with three dozen felony counts.

Naasón Joaquín García faces charged for three committed sex crimes and child pornography production involving five women and girls in the church group. The crimes allegedly occurred between 2015 and 2018. In addition to the Garcia, two others are being investigated, Susana Medina Oaxaca and Alondra Ocampo.

Charges were already underway, but new charges have surfaced, and the charges are now being refiled. In the refiled charges, Garcia and Ocampo are accused of committing a lewd act on a 15-year-old girl. Garcia allegedly fondled the girl in his office. These two also face allegations of raping and committing forced oral copulation with another girl. Additionally, all three alleged abusers are accused of committing forced oral copulation with a third girl.

Garcia is charged separately on raping two others. Ocampo took part in one of these rapes. Oaxaca also faces two counts of committing forced and illegal copulation on a minor. Also, Ocampo supposedly had church group members send explicit photos or pose for these photos. On one occasion, Ocampo allegedly asked a group of underaged girls to touch one another naked photos.

Lastly, the charges include human trafficking by convincing a child to engage in lewd acts to commit human trafficking to produce child pornography, unlawful sexual intercourse, and extortion of the victims.

Legal Options of Victims Sexually Abused by a Clergy Member

Attorney contributor Bobby Thompson represents victims of sexual abuse in family lawsuits and helps them receive financial compensation. In an interview, we asked Bobby to share some of his knowledge on victims’ rights who were sexually abused by a clergy member:

“In many sexual abuse cases, abusers place themselves in positions where they are highly trusted within their community. We see this in cases across the country involving pastors, priests, and other religious clergy members sexually abusing members of their religious organizations. These religious organizations have a legal obligation to keep their followers safe and do everything they can to protect their congregation members from sexual predators.”

In a sexual assault investigation, the victim should aim to have both the accused clergy member and the church investigated. A church can be held accountable for not upholding their follower’s safety due to negligence, such as ignoring previous sexual assault complaints or failing to implement safety measures. In negligence cases, the victims and their families should know they may have grounds for a lawsuit.

Sources:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/31/child-rape-charges-refiled-against-mexican-megachurch-leader/