Mother and Son Among Six La Luz del Mundo Leaders Indicted on Federal Charges

Six leaders of the Mexico-based La Luz del Mundo church, including its current “apostle,” Naasón Joaquín García, and his mother, are facing federal charges of racketeering, child pornography and sex trafficking under a recently unsealed indictment. Some of the offenses carry maximum penalties that include life in prison.

García, 56, has been serving a 16-year, 8-month prison sentence in California after reaching a plea deal in 2022 on state sex abuse charges. Authorities said he was moved into federal custody on Wednesday, the day the indictment was unsealed. The same day, his mother, 79-year-old Eva García de Joaquín, was arrested in Los Angeles. García’s attorney says he is innocent. In a statement to NPR, defense attorney Alan Jackson said, “We categorically deny these charges” and “We reject the grotesque portrait painted by the government and its allies.”

Prosecutors state that the family that has led La Luz del Mundo, or “Light of the World,” for nearly 100 years used the church to facilitate sexual abuse across generations. The indictment alleges that García, his late father, Samuel Joaquín Flores, and his grandfather, Aarón Joaquin Gonzalez, who founded the church, systematically abused followers, aided by relatives and employees. The indictment also alleges that Eva García de Joaquín, Samuel’s wife, held down a minor victim on at least one occasion so that Samuel could rape the victim. Prosecutors claim that girls and women abused by one leader often remained in the church and later became victims of the next leader.

Sochil Martin, 39, a former church member who has cooperated with authorities investigating García, told NPR that “so many survivors have been speaking up now” from Mexico and the United States. Martin said the church’s leadership oversaw generations of abuse and that her aunt, now in her 60s, says she was assaulted by Samuel and his wife when she was a teenager. Martin described her aunt’s reaction to the federal charges: “It was a good day for her.” She added that Samuel died without paying his debt to society, but that his wife is now living to see the day, “and that’s a form of justice for a lot of survivors.” These are Martin’s statements and the account of her family member, not findings by a court.

In federal court filings, prosecutors allege that García engaged in depraved acts against minor boys and girls and women, including rape, forced incest and what they describe as “sadistic sexual rituals for his sexual gratification.” In a memo arguing against bail for those in custody, prosecutors said García and others “victimized at least dozens of minor and adult LLDM Church members in Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere.” The document stated that some victims were as young as 13 and that the leaders trafficked victims on international trips to Asia, Europe, Africa, Mexico and the U.S., using them to help smuggle money. Prosecutors also said officers seized “well over $1 million in U.S. currency,” along with foreign cash and valuables, during a search of Los Angeles homes belonging to García and his mother.

The other defendants named in the indictment face separate accusations. Joram Núñez Joaquín, 37, a relative and law school graduate, is accused of posing as a practicing lawyer, silencing victims and witnesses, and destroying evidence. Silem García Peña, 43, who led the church’s public relations arm, is alleged to have worked to prevent victims from reporting abuse. Rosa Sosa, 59, and Azalia Rangel García, 46, are both accused of “grooming” victims and abusing minors and young women. Survivors who have come forward, like those Martin describes, are part of a process that protects the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Núñez Joaquín was arrested on Wednesday outside Chicago. Prosecutors believe the other three defendants are at large in Mexico.

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