Photo: Los Angeles Times
The leader of a megachurch with millions of followers around the world has been charged by federal authorities with producing child pornography.
Naasón Joaquín García, 54, who is the head of the La Luz del Mundo church, is currently serving a nearly 17-year prison sentence in California for sexually abusing his followers.
Garcia began serving his sentence last year after pleading guilty to two state counts of forcible oral copulation involving minors and one count of a lewd act upon a child. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped 16 additional charges against him.
Despite the guilty plea, the church, which also goes by the Church of the Living God, Pillar and Ground of the Truth, and The Light of the World, has stood behind its leader, who many followers believe to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.
"Our confidence in him remains intact with full knowledge of his integrity, his conduct, and his work," the church wrote on social media in June 2022.
Now that the case in California against Garcia has concluded, federal officials are moving forward with charges stemming from the investigation.
Federal prosecutors said that "García knowingly employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor...to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct."
The indictment also claims that García "possessed an iPad that contained five videos depicting" the underage victim engaging in sexual activity.
If convicted of the federal charges, García faces a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.