A megachurch preacher's defense is accusing prosecutors of fabricating evidence in a case involving multiple sex crimes.
Naason Joaquin Garcia, a church leader at La Luz del Mundo is set to begin trial in May for several sex crimes, including making sex videos with female minors at his church. But now, his defense is accusing prosecutors in California of fabricating evidence against him.
According to the Christian Post, a 211-page motion was filed on March 15, in which defense attorney Alan Jackson and his team argued that the case brought against the megachurch pastor by the California Attorney General's Office is based on fabricated evidence. The case alleges that Garcia groomed and raped young girls from his congregation.
La Luz del Mundo said in a statement that they were "shocked by the facts in the recent motion filed by defense attorney Alan Jackson on March 15 in the case regarding the Apostle of Jesus Christ Naasón JoaquÃn GarcÃa."
The megachurch added that the prosecutors "fabricated incriminating evidence, created reports based on that fabricated false evidence, and deleted and concealed exculpatory evidence."
Garcia, a 52 year old who served as the megachurch pastor who is considered by his followers as an apostle of Jesus Christ, was arrested in summer 2019 at the Los Angeles International Airport. The megachurch pastor was charged with "human trafficking, production of child pornography, forcible rape of a minor and other felonies committed between 2015 and 2019," the report said. Garcia adn co-defendants were all tried separately.
The criminal complaint filed by a group of girls alleges that they were told if they opposed Garcia's desires, "they were going against God." The female minors were allegedly instructed to perform "flirty" dances for Garcia while wearing "as little clothing as possible." They also accused the megachurch pastor of giving a group of children "a speech about a king having mistresses and stated that an apostle of God can never be judged for his actions."
Steven Stover, a state law enforcement officer and forensic examiner testified in 2019 about a video found on Garcia's iPad, wherein the megachurch pastor was having a threesome with a woman and an underage male. Stover testified that he also found child pornography on an iPhone taken from Garcia. One of the videos showed girls "of a very young age" performing sexual acts.
More than 70,000 texts messages reviewed by the defense were part of their latest motion, which claimed that some of Garcia's accusers were "sexually active, angst-filled teenagers who lied, shoplifted, used drugs, drank alcohol, struggled with mental health issues and discussed having sex with the church leader for money."
The motion claims that California Department of Justice Special Agent Joseph Cedusky took their time in analyzing text messages to build their criminal narrative of Garcia and selected a few messages in support of it. The defense said that the prosecution "delayed access" to the entire collection of Garcia's text messages as well.
Jackson and his team alleged that Garcia was "forced to sit through a mockery of a preliminary hearing based entirely on lies and fiction created from whole cloth in the minds of investigators and prosecutors."
According to the Washington Examiner, Jackson alleged that the prosecution "actively suppressed any evidence contrary to its case and achieved this by altering and manipulating the evidence." Garcia pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him and is now facing a $50 million bail, which some say is the highest ever imposed in a Los Angeles county. The megachurch pastor's defense maintains that he is "100% innocent."
