ATLANTA — In between emotional interviews with victims of sexual abuse, a new HBO docuseries about a megachurch’s pedophilic leader takes viewers on an aerial tour of Hall County, Georgia. There are shots of sprawling forests and bucolic Flowery Branch, a small town on the shores of Lake Lanier.
The program, titled “Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo,” lays out longstanding patterns of alleged abuse at La Luz del Mundo, which translates to The Light of the World. The Mexican-based church has a reported 5 million members across the globe — and a large Georgia footprint.
The towering figure at the head of the church is Naasón Joaquín García, considered by disciples to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. Over the summer, he confessed to sexually abusing children and was given a plea deal sentence of 16 years in jail, angering his victims who testified.
