The head of a Mexico-based evangelical megachurch that claims about 5 million followers worldwide pleaded guilty on Friday to felony counts of sexually abusing three children, California state prosecutors announced on Friday.
The guilty plea was entered in court by Nasson Joaquin Garcia, leader and self-styled apostle of the Guadalajara-based church La Luz del Mundo (Light of the World), three days before he was scheduled to go on trial, according to a statement from the California attorney general's office.
Sentencing for Garcia, 53, was scheduled for next Wednesday. He faces up to 16 years and eight months in prison, prosecutors said.
