UPDATE: The leader of La Luz del Mundo was sentenced to 17 years for sexual offenses against minors he groomed in the congregation.
Update (June 8): As a county judge in California deemed pastor Naasón Joaquín García a “sexual predator” and sentenced him to nearly 17 years in prison on Wednesday, members of his congregation in Mexico gathered to pray and stand with their “apostle,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
The pastor of the Guadalajara-based megachurch La Luz del Mundo admitted last week to three charges of sexual offenses toward children. His followers believe he entered the plea deal to avoid an unjust trial. They have dismissed the allegations that he groomed underage girls in the congregation for sex abuse.
A statement from La Luz del Mundo, Mexico’s largest evangelical congregation, said García “will continue ministering to the church. This is a path that God has placed in front of him for a reason, as he did for Apostle Paul.”
Three victims anonymously shared statements at García’s sentencing, with one describing how she functioned as a sex slave for the pastor and had been taught not to “refuse his desires.”
According to the Associated Press:
The victims spoke of how their delight at being invited into a secret inner circle with García quickly spun into an out-of-control nightmare of rape and other sexual abuse that they described at times in graphic detail.
They said they were called angels and told they were García’s property and that his wishes were godly commands and they should serve the Lord without question. Bible verses were twisted to make them comply.
But they were also told they would damned if they spoke out—and so would anybody they told.
All were disappointed that prosecutors were unable to take the case to trial …Continue reading… www.christianitytoday.org
