In Guadalajara’s Hermosa Provincia neighborhood, the headquarters of La Luz del Mundo, hundreds of worshipers walked to evening prayer Wednesday, a day like none other for Mexico’s largest evangelical church.

Naason Joaquin Garcia, the church’s leader, a man considered by congregants an apostle of Jesus Christ, had just been sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison for committing acts of sexual abuse against girls from his community.

But church members here stand steadily by him, holding that he’s innocent. Kneeling, they prayed for Garcia, the third member of his family to lead the church, the third to be accused of sexual misconduct.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-08/la-luz-del-mundo-church-leader-sentenced