A California appellate court has dropped child rape charges against a self-proclaimed apostle of a pentecostal Christian community based in Mexico, citing prosecutorial error.
A three-judge panel of California’s 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that prosecutors did not provide a speedy trial for Naasón Joaquín García, leader of the global church known as La Luz del Mundo (“The Light of the World”).
“[W]henever a defendant is in custody and does not personally waive time, the court must dismiss the complaint if the preliminary hearing is set or continued beyond the statutory 10-day period,” Justice Laurie Zelon wrote in the 33-page opinion.
Prosecutors had charged Mr. García and two other defendants with 29 felonies, including rape and human trafficking, stemming from allegations that they coerced underage girls into performing sex acts as part of church loyalty.
“In their zeal to secure a conviction at any cost, the [authorities] have sought to strip Mr. García of his freedom without due process by locking him up without bail on the basis of unsubstantiated accusations by unnamed accusers and by denying him his day in court,” Alan Jackson, an attorney representing Mr. García, said in a statement.
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