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    La Luz del Mundo ‘apostle’ sentenced to nearly 17 years as victims detail sexual slavery

    by Libor Jany, Leila Miller and Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times Jun 08, 2022 5 minutes
    Naason Joaquin Garcia, right, the former leader of the fundamentalist Guadalajara, Mexico- based church La Luz del Mundo, listens to victim statements during his sentencing in Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 8, 2022. Garcia pleaded guilty Friday, June 3, 2022, to sexually abusing three girls. At left is defense attorney Alan Jackson.

    LOS ANGELES — Naason Joaquin Garcia, the leader of the La Luz del Mundo church, was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years and eight months in prison for sexually abusing juvenile members of his congregation.

    Several of Garcia’s victims testified during the lengthy hearing Wednesday, and the courtroom was filled with muffled sobs as the sentence was handed down.

    “I’ve been a judge for a long time,” said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen, who presided over the sentencing. “I’ll never cease to be amazed at what some people do (in the name of) religion.”

    Before reading the sentence, Coen apologized to the victims. Many had wanted the case to go to trial, but Garcia agreed to plead guilty Friday. Coen said: “My hands are tied. Lawyers do what lawyers do.”

    “But I just want to tell the Jane Does

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