Leaders of Mexican megachurch led a sprawling sex-trafficking enterprise, US prosecutors allege
Also Naasón Joaquín García Charged With Racketeering Conspiracy, Sex Trafficking, And Child Exploitation Of Members Of La Luz Del Mundo Church (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York)
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Source: The Guardian
Leaders of Mexican megachurch led a sprawling sex-trafficking enterprise, US prosecutors allege
The family behind La Luz del Mundo Church allegedly facilitated sexual abuse of children and women for decades
Victoria Bekiempis in New York
Sun 28 Sep 2025 13.00 BST
Last modified on Sun 28 Sep 2025 13.01 BST
Since its inception nearly 100 years ago, La Luz del Mundo Church has been a family affair even as it spread from Mexico to the US and around the world.
Eusebio “Aaron” Joaquín Gonzalez, who founded the Guadalajara-based Christian church, was succeeded by his son, Samuel Joaquín Flores, upon his death in 1964.
When Samuel died in 2014, his son, Naasón Joaquín García, assumed power. La Luz del Mundo now reportedly operates in all 50 US states and approximately the same number of countries, boasting 5 million members worldwide.
However, new filings in Manhattan federal court have alleged that La Luz’s patriarchs passed down much more than leadership at the helm of this evangelical megachurch.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/28/la-luz-del-mundo-church-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-charges
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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
Naasón Joaquín García Charged With Racketeering Conspiracy, Sex Trafficking, And Child Exploitation Of Members Of La Luz Del Mundo Church
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
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For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
Naasón Joaquín García and Five Other Defendants Are Charged With a Wide-Ranging Racketeering and Child Exploitation Enterprise That Exploited the Church He Led and Victimized its Members
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton; Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Ricky J. Patel; and Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Harry T. Chavis, Jr., announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging NAASÓN JOAQUÍN GARCÍA (“NAASÓN”), ROSA SOSA, AZALIA RANGEL GARCÍA, EVA GARCÍA DE JOAQUÍN, JORAM NÚÑEZ JOAQUÍN, and SILEM GARCÍA PEÑA with sexual, financial, and related criminal conduct victimizing members of the La Luz del Mundo (“LLDM”) Church over many years. As alleged in the Indictment, the defendants engaged in a racketeering enterprise (the “Joaquín LLDM Enterprise”) that exploited the LLDM Church and persisted for decades to facilitate the systemic sexual abuse of children and women—including the creation of photos and videos of sadistic child sexual abuse. For decades, the Joaquín LLDM Enterprise operated for the sexual gratification of NAASÓN and his father, the former leader of the Joaquín LLDM Enterprise, Samuel Joaquín Flores (“Samuel”), who died in 2014.
NAASÓN was taken into federal custody earlier today in Chino, California where he is serving a state sentence for the sexual abuse of minors. GARCÍA DE JOAQUÍN was arrested in Los Angeles this morning and is expected to be presented later today in the Central District of California. NÚÑEZ JOAQUÍN was arrested outside of Chicago this morning and is expected to be presented later today in the Northern District of Illinois. SOSA, RANGEL GARCÍA, and GARCÍA PEÑA are at large and believed to be in Mexico. The U.S. government will seek their arrest and extradition to face these charges in the U.S. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska.
“As alleged in the Indictment, for decades, Naasón Joaquín García and the other members of the Joaquín LLDM Enterprise used their position in and the resources of the La Luz Del Mundo Church to sexually abuse girls, boys, and women,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “They exploited the faith of their followers to prey upon them. When they were confronted, they leveraged their religious influence and financial power to intimidate and coerce victims into remaining silent about the abuse they had suffered. The Indictment includes charges against those who systemically aided Naasón’s alleged sexual exploitation of teenagers and young women, including creating photos and videos of abuse and other unspeakable criminal conduct. We commend the victims who have come forward for their extraordinary courage and desire to bring an end to decades of abuse. This Office will hold Naasón and others who aided this alleged abuse fully accountable.”
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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/naason-joaquin-garcia-charged-racketeering-conspiracy-sex-trafficking-and-child
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