Introducing: Sacred Scandal: La Luz del Mundo

Sacred Scandal, named one of Podtrac’s Best New Podcasts of 2022, embarks on its second season, focusing on Mexico-based megachurch La Luz del Mundo (Light of the World). It tells the story of Naasón Joaquín García, a self-proclaimed apostle, who is currently behind bars after pleading guilty in June 2022 of sexually abusing girls from his congregation. Naasón is currently serving a nearly 17-year sentence, but maintains his innocence.

Host and investigative journalist Roberta Garza explores Naasón's control over a multitude of devotees, some of whom now describe their experiences in the church as "pure evil." In this true-crime series, survivors share stories about this powerful religious leader and the alleged sexual abuse that followed, many relating to minors.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Or. They believed that he was Jesus Christ on Earth,
God on Earth.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
He was by jail and I couldn't get away from him,
no matter how much I tried.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
It's the largest cult.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
In the world that no one has ever heard of.
This season of Sacred Scandal investigates the megachurch laluse El Mundo.
It was founded in Mexico with a congregation that spans
over fifty countries. Many describe it as a religious cult.
It's charismatic leader, Nassan juaque In Garcia, is believed by

(00:39):
his five million followers to be the last Apostle of God.
He promised them salvation. What he delivered was something else.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
It was even so much that he liked sex. He
wanted something that was shocking that deprayed.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Can think about what's killing him.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
There was a sixteen year old kid with his aggressor.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Everything changed when the Apostle was arrested in June twenty
nineteen at the Los Angeles Airport and faced an American court.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
A day of reckoning for the man who's millions of
followers called him the Apostle Jesus on Earth. Nissan Garcia
admitting in court he sexually abused young girls in his church.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
After fifty years of being adored like a god. Nassan
pled guilty and was sentenced to nearly seventeen years behind
the bars. Survivors began speaking out, this.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
Is just a business and their product are people.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
And then he said, listen, I want you to help
me find other girls. My own family doesn't believe me
when I told him. Murder, corruption, abuse. Many know the headlines,
but the in depth story of laluzel Mundo is yet
to be told. I'm Robert ta Garza and I'll your

(02:13):
host as we dive into the horrifying reality of the
Church of Nassan's crimes and unveil its darkest secrets. Listen
to Sacrets Scandal uzel Mundo as part of the Michael
Dura podcast Network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or anywhere you get your podcasts.