Steve Gorman, Norma Galeana

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – A Mexican-based evangelical megachurch with over 5 million members worldwide will be sentenced Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom after he was convicted of committing sex abuse of three minors.

Nasson Joaquin Garcia, the leader and self-described apostle of the Guadalajara-based La Luz del Mundo (“Light of the World”) church, pleaded guilty to child abuse last Friday. He was due to stand trial for human trafficking, rape, and child pornography three days earlier.

In a plea deal, the California attorney general’s offices prosecutors dismissed all the serious charges against Garcia and recommended that he receive a sentence of 16 years and eight month in prison. A harsher sentence could be imposed by the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge who presided over Garcia’s case.

In court, four of Garcia’s teenage accusers identified as Jane Doe.

Each expressed their anger at Garcia being excluded from the plea negotiation process. Garcia was 53 years old and sat next to his daughters as they spoke to Garcia about Garcia’s anguish in tearful statements.

You were our God, we looked up and trusted you. And you betrayed me. Jane Doe No. As she choked on her sobs, 3 said.

Jane Doe No. 4 identified herself as Garcia’s niece and said “Nasson’s church and this church have destroyed my life.”

The court was also told by another accuser that Garcia had written a letter to the members of his church, claiming that he was innocent but accepted the offer from prosecutors as he felt he couldn’t get a fair trial.

“Your Honor, this abuser thinks that your courtroom makes a mockery of itself,” he said. “He’s still sending messages to church saying he’s innocent even though he took the plea bargain,” said the accuser.

Garcia’s conviction ends an investigation that started in 2018, and led to Garcia being arrested the year after at Los Angeles International Airport. He was also arrested with Susana Medina Olaxaca. She pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge involving assault likely cause great bodily damage.

Alondra Olago, another co-defendant who was also detained in 2019, pleaded guilty to three counts of contact for sexual purposes with a minor and one count forcible sex penetration in 2020.

Garcia pleaded guilty two counts of forcible oral copulation with minors, and one count of lewd acts upon a child. According to prosecutors, the three victims were underage and Garcia was charged with their abuse.

Garcia, Oaxaca and Ocampo each faced 36 different felonies, which includes charges of human trafficking, rape, child pornography and rape involving five alleged victims. In exchange for their guilty pleas, the majority of these charges were dropped.

Prosecutors said that Azalea Rangl Melendez is the fourth person charged in this investigation.

La Luz del Mundo, Mexico’s largest evangelical church, dates back to the 1920s and has branches in 50 different countries. It boasts approximately 5 million members.

Garcia was ordered to appear in court by a Los Angeles judge on August 20, 2020. The church released a statement supporting Garcia, stating that the accusations against Garcia were based on “unsubstantiated anonymities” and “blatant hearingsay”.

A La Luz del Mundo spokesperson reached out to Reuters Friday and stated that they would release a statement later in the afternoon, however no such statement was made.