Naasón Joaquín García

Naasón Merarí Joaquín García (born on May 7, 1969) is a convicted child sex offender, who is also the third leader of the La Luz del Mundo church, succeeding his father, Samuel Joaquín Flores, in December 2014.[1]

Naasón Joaquín García
International Director of the La Luz del Mundo Church
Assumed office
December 14, 2014
Preceded bySamuel Joaquín Flores
Personal details
Born (1969-05-07) 7 May 1969
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
SpouseAlma Zamora
Parent(s)Samuel Joaquín Flores
Eva García López
Conviction(s)Oral Copulation With a Minor (2 counts)
Lewd Acts On A Child (1 count)
Criminal penalty16 years, 8 months
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Joaquín and the second or maternal family name is García.

Early life

Joaquín García was born on May 7, 1969, in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, the fifth of seven children to Samuel Joaquín Flores and Eva García.[2]

Career

Before becoming the head of La Luz del Mundo at 45, he was (most recently) a minister for the group in Santa Ana, California, and previously served as minister for other congregations in cities throughout California (Huntington Park, San Diego, East Los Angeles, Santa Maria) and Arizona.[2]

He continues to be named as Legal Representative of the church in Mexico in spite of having been convicted of child sex crimes. Because his religious registry is against Mexican Law now that he has been sentenced, there is currently a petition to remove his name from both The Light of The World church (iglesia La Luz del Mundo) and the Levitical Fraternity (Fraternidad Levítico) in that country. revocar-registros-religiosos-de-njg-pederasta-confeso

On June 3, 2019, Joaquín García was arrested and charged by prosecutors from Los Angeles County with sexual abuse charges involving minors.[3][4][5] Two days before his trial, Naasón Joaquín Garcia pleaded guilty to three charges related to sexually abusing children. [6] On June 8, 2022, he was convicted and sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison.[7]

Susana Medina Oaxaca and Alondra Ocampo were also charged. Joaquín García was held on $50 million bail, Ocampo on $25 million, and Oaxaca remained free on bail. A fourth defendant, Azalea Rangel Melendez, who was previously charged with rape, is still at-large. Also, a February federal lawsuit against the church and Joaquín García alleging that he and his father sexually abused a Southern California girl regularly from the time she was twelve until she was eighteen is still pending.[8]

He was transferred to North Kern State Prison for evaluations to determine his placement within the prison system.[9] He will soon face a civil trial for such crimes as human trafficking and forced labor. The RICO suit names him, the organization called Light of the World, his mother, his wife, his brother, and many of the leaders of the organization.[10] Federal criminal investigations are pending in both the United States and Mexico.[11]

As of 2023, He is currently in California Institute for Men in Chino, California.[12]

Personal life

He is married to Alma Zamora, and they have three children: Adoraím, Eldaí, Sibma. [13]

References
  1. "Naasón Merarí Joaquín García: El "apóstol" del poder". Eje Central (in Spanish). 6 June 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  2. "Es Naasón Joaquín García, nuevo líder de La Luz del Mundo". Cronica Jalisco (in Spanish). 15 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  3. Garcia, Blanca (9 June 2019). "La Luz del Mundo Church Leader Accused of Sex Crimes". Santa Barbara Independent. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  4. Cosgrove, Jaclyn; Johnson, Reed; Miller, Leila (4 June 2019). "Leader of La Luz Del Mundo religious group arrested on suspicion of rape, child porn". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  5. Miller, Leila (22 June 2019). "Sex abuse charges against La Luz del Mundo leader are the 'tip of the iceberg,' prosecutors say". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  6. "La Luz del Mundo church leader pleads guilty to sex abuse charges". Los Angeles Times. 3 June 2022. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  7. "Mexican megachurch leader gets more than 16 years for abuse" Archived 2022-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, ABC News, 8 June 2022
  8. "Child rape charges refiled against Mexican megachurch leader". AP NEWS. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  9. "The Light of the World: Naasón Joaquín is changed from jail for this reason". Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  10. "Home Page". Today90. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  11. Albeck-Ripka, Livia (9 June 2022). "Leader of Mexican Church Is Sentenced to 16 Years for Sex Crimes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  12. "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer". inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  13. "Naasón Joaquín García: quién es líder de La Luz del Mundo (biografía)". www.milenio.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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