'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAACay4Jv/8QAIhAAAgIABAcAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAAREiEFBxMUFkGS/9oACAEBAAE/APLqq8moaMWpeKzWu1ewIgGkRN1LH3kr6cMtBmLS2LbSHdj0wcz9Y//EABgRAAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIRAAED/9oACAECAQE/AMwoWp//xAAZEQABBQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAAMRElH/2gAIAQMBAT8AeMirOL//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Naasón Joaquín Garcia, the self-declared Apostle of God on Earth and head of Mexico-based La Luz del Mundo megachurch, pleaded guilty to three charges and was sentenced to over 16 years in prison earlier this year.
Until June 2019, when Garcia was arrested and charged with more than two dozen offenses that occurred in Los Angeles County between 2015 and 2018, he maintained that he was Jesus' only and true apostle and a representation of him on Earth.
La Luz del Mundo in Guadalajara, Mexico, has been one of the greatest Christian religious institutions in Latin America for decades. Although Garcia, the church's head, is worshiped by millions of followers worldwide, his misdeeds have shone a different light on the establishment, exposing decades of misconduct and s*xual abuse by its supposed leaders.
HBO's upcoming three-part documentary series aims to chronicle the blind faith of La Luz del Mundo's followers and the generational abuse endured by multiple followers, including minor girls. Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo premieres on December 6, 2022.
Oppressive doctrines for women, Naasón Joaquín Garcia's arrest, and more details about La Luz del Mundo controversy
1) The first La Luz del Mundo surfaced during the early 1940s
Eusebio Joaquin González, the grandfather of Naasón Joaquin Garcia, founded La Luz del Mundo, the largest evangelical church in Mexico, in 1926. He claimed that after establishing the church, God instructed him to adopt the name Aaron and to begin preaching the gospel. In the middle of the 1930s, González established the first temple in Guadalajara and referred to himself as the Apostle of God on Earth.
The first controversy broke out in 1942 when González was accused of s*xually assaulting a 13-year-old girl and deceiving his congregation. González's son, Samuel Joaquín, took over in the 1960s, even though a fourth of his followers left the church in the aftermath of the charges.
2) The megachurch preached extremely strict and oppressive doctrines for women
Over the years, the La Luz del Mundo leaders have propagated a gospel in which they are Jesus' messengers on Earth, who should be obeyed in every aspect. This also applied to the bedroom, where young girls were brought in by the apostles' secretaries. These girls were abused and groomed to appease the leaders' every pleasure.
The victims were as young as 8 years old, and in addition to being r*ped and humiliated in front of others by the apostles, they were also forced to participate in threesomes, go to S&M clubs, and take their younger siblings into these unsafe places. It was sinful to refuse such pleas considering that being with the apostle was a "blessing." Young women followed them to avoid offending the Lord.
3) A second controversy emerged in the last 90s when the La Luz del Mundo was under Samuel Joaquín
In the 1960s, Samuel Joaquín took charge but soon started following in his abusive father’s footsteps. In 1997, two women, namely Karen León and Amparo Aguilar, asserted that he had s*xually assaulted them when they were 13 in the 1980s.
Moises Padilla openly accused Samuel of r*ping him when he was 16 on television. Padilla was then kidnapped and stabbed 57 times about six months after going public with the abuse allegations, but fortunately survived. Four separate criminal complaints were filed against Joaquín, but none of them could be prosecuted since the statute of limitations had passed.
Tragically, one of his victims, Alondra Ocampo, not only remained a member of the church far into her adulthood, but she also groomed children for Naasón Joaquín Garcia when his father passed away.
4) Naasón Joaquín Garcia was arrested in 2019 along with his accomplices
Naasón Joaquín Garcia was 45 when he took charge of La Luz del Mundo in 2014. His followers also accepted his claim that he was the only legitimate representative of Jesus on Earth.
On June 3, 2019, officials arrested Gracia in Los Angeles along with Susana Medina Oaxaca, 24, Alondra Ocampo, and another individual. Between 2015 and 2018, they were charged with more than 20 offenses. Moreover, according to a June 2022 report, a fourth accomplice, Azalea Rangel Melendez, is still at large.
5) Multiple women came forward accusing the La Luz del Mundo leader of s*xual assault
Authorities filed a criminal complaint against Gracia and the others, citing three anonymous Jane Does, who claimed Ocampo had groomed them to be eventually s*xually assaulted by Garcia. A fourth Jane Doe stated that in addition to grooming minors for the self-proclaimed leader, she was also repeatedly r*ped by him.
When Garcia and Oaxaca's possessions were seized by the authorities, their devices contained videos of child r*pe and incest, which led to additional charges for offenses committed in 2019. Ocampo consented to testify against Naasón Joaquin Garcia after which he decided to plead guilty in June 2022, even though he first maintained his innocence.
HBO's Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo premieres this Tuesday, December 6.
