Overview

• Naasón Joaquín García was taken into federal custody in Chino, California, where he is serving a 16-year, eight-month state sentence stemming from a 2022 guilty plea.
• Five co-defendants were charged, with arrests reported in Los Angeles and near Chicago, while others are believed to be in Mexico and face arrest and extradition.
• The indictment alleges sex trafficking of women and children, production of child sexual abuse material, forced labor, financial crimes, and obstruction of justice, with potential life sentences if convictions follow.
• Prosecutors say the abuse spanned generations of church leadership and included pressure on victims to sign false statements and sermons portraying accusers as liars.
• Federal agents executed searches at church-linked properties, and prosecutors say a search of an East Los Angeles residence turned up more than $1 million in cash and items described as evidence of sex crimes.