Six leaders of the Mexico-based La Luz del Mundo megachurch — including its current "apostle," Naasón Joaquín García, his mother and four associates — are facing federal charges of racketeering, child pornography and sex trafficking, under a recently unsealed indictment . Maximum penalties for some of the offenses include life in prison.

García, 56, has been serving a 16-year, 8-month prison sentence in California, after reaching a plea deal in 2022 on state sex abuse charges .

García was moved into federal custody on Wednesday, authorities said as the indictment was unsealed. On the same day, his mother, 79-year-old Eva García de Joaquín, was arrested in Los Angeles. His attorney says that García is innocent.

"We categorically deny these charges," García's defense attorney Alan Jac

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