Latest news with #GarciaAquino
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Yahoo
Funeral held for 13-year-old boy found murdered in Ventura County
Friends and family members held a funeral service Saturday to honor the 13-year-old boy who was found murdered in Ventura County. Loved ones gathered at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church to honor Oscar Omar Hernandez, who was found murdered on April 2. Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, a traveling soccer coach with the Hurricane Valley boys soccer club near Sylmar, was charged in connection to Hernandez's death. Hernandez's family reported him missing on March 30 after he failed to return home. They've repeatedly claimed that Garcia Aquino was the last person to see him alive after the boy took a train to visit the man's Antelope Valley home when he disappeared. Hernandez had planned to earn extra money by helping the coach paint soccer jerseys, his family said. But when his family called his cell phone, the coach reportedly answered and said Hernandez was too busy to talk. The family contacted law enforcement and three days later on April 2, the boy's body was discovered in a ditch in a wooded area off an Oxnard road. Garcia Aquino has also been charged in a separate sexual abuse case involving a 16-year-old boy in a February 2024 incident, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. On April 7, he was charged with assault with intent to commit rape involving the 16-year-old, court documents said. He was also the subject of a Los Angeles Police Department investigation into the suspected sexual assault of a minor in 2022 but wasn't charged because the alleged victim declined to testify against him, according to the Los Angeles Times. Both victims were allegedly connected to Garcia Aquino's soccer coaching, the Times said. On Saturday, April 12, Hernandez's family and loved ones gathered for his funeral service. The boy's mother was overwhelmed with grief and nearly fainted when she approached his casket. 'It's just crazy how he could be a soccer coach, coaching all these little kids, when in reality he had this whole backstory,' said Andrew Barrios, Hernandez's friend. 'It's heartbreaking seeing your friend in a casket.' Hernandez was a 7th grade student at Sun Valley Magnet School and was an excellent soccer player, his friends said. His family moved to the U.S. from Honduras just three years ago. He first met Garcia Aquino at the Valley Plaza Sports Complex in North Hollywood, according to this family. Garcia-Aquino was charged with murder with special circumstances — lewd acts with a child. He could face the death penalty. He is also an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, multiple law enforcement officials told the L.A. Times anonymously. The boy's family wants justice for his death. At a candlelight vigil on April 4, his grieving mother said in Spanish that, 'Perhaps my son gave his life for others to be exposed.' The family released a statement on the boy's death saying, 'We are devastated by the unimaginable loss of our beloved son Oscar Omar Hernandez Bautista. His bright spirit and love for soccer brought joy to everyone who knew him. We are heartbroken that someone entrusted with his care could commit such a horrific act.' Garcia Aquino is scheduled to appear in court on April 30. Investigators believe more victims may be out there. 'There's always a fear that there are more victims and we want to make sure we account for everybody out there,' said L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna. Anyone with information on the suspect or the case is asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at 213-229-1700. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- The Guardian
LA-area soccer coach charged with murder of 13-year-old boy
A Los Angeles-area youth soccer coach was charged with the murder of a 13-year-old boy, as well as the assault of two other teenagers, during a court hearing Tuesday. Prosecutors accused Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, of killing Oscar Omar Hernandez, whose body was found by the side of the road in Ventura county. Garcia Aquino was charged with murder with special circumstances during the commission or attempted commission of lewd acts with a child. The charge comes with a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. The Los Angeles county district attorney's office will decide whether to seek the death penalty at a later date. The district attorney's office also charged Garcia Aquino with a sexual offense or lewd act upon a child involving a teenager around 14 or 15 years old in 2022 and assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense involving a 16-year-old in February 2024. 'No parent should ever have to endure the unimaginable pain and sorrow of learning their child has been murdered,' the district attorney, Nathan J Hochman, said in a statement. 'Oscar simply boarded a train and little did he or his family know that he would never return. Sexual predators who target victims for their own gratification will be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.' Garcia Aquino coached youth soccer with the Hurricane Valley boys soccer club, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing local authorities. Hernandez's family reported Oscar missing on 30 March after he had boarded a train to help Garcia Aquino make soccer jerseys in Lancaster on 28 March. Last week, family and friends gathered for a vigil and press conference at the location Oscar's body had been found. 'He didn't need to be treated like an animal. That was my son,' his mother, Gladys Bautista, cried out in Spanish, ABC News' Los Angeles station KABC reported. Hernandez's family, who are from Honduras, told KCAL News they wondered whether Garcia Aquino had targeted families who did not have legal status in the United States. Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion The Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna, said his office is looking to speak with others who may have been assaulted by Garcia Aquino. He encouraged victims to come forward regardless of their immigration status. 'I'm here today specifically seeking additional victims on a child sexual abuse case involving ... Mario Garcia Aquino from the Palmdale area,' he said at a Monday news conference.
Los Angeles Times
09-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. youth soccer coach faced earlier abuse allegations. Now, he's charged with killing a 13-year-old boy
The charging of a Los Angeles-area youth soccer coach in the killing of 13-year-old boy whose body was found along a road in Oxnard is raising new questions about earlier criminal investigations into the accused man's contact with minors as well as his immigration status. Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, was charged with murder with special circumstances in the death of Oscar Omar Hernandez. Police records show that Garcia Aquino was the subject of two earlier investigations into alleged misconduct with children. Here is what we know: Garcia Aquino was charged this week with assault with intent to commit rape in connection with a Feb. 22, 2024 incident. The coach allegedly 'took advantage of a position of trust and confidence in committing the assault,' according to criminal records filed in court. The offense involved a 16-year-old boy, authorities said. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said this week the reason for the delay in filing charges in the 2024 assault was because such crimes must be thoroughly investigated. Garcia Aquino was also the subject of an LAPD investigation into the suspected sexual assault of a minor in 2022, but was never charged because the alleged victim declined to testify against him, according to multiple law enforcement sources. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged Hernandez with another crime — one felony count each of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense and lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 years old. Prosecutors allege Garcia Aquino sexually assaulted a teenager at his then-home in Sylmar on Dec. 10, 2022. Both victims, the sources said, were connected to his soccer coaching. Garcia Aquino was a youth travel soccer coach with the Hurricane Valley boys soccer club in the Sylmar area, and worked with different age divisions, according to authorities. Multiple law enforcement sources who said they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case said that Garcia Aquino was an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador. Garcia Aquino has not entered a plea and could not be reached for comment. Although Garcia Aquino has yet to be found guilty of the killing and assaults, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on X describing him as a 'depraved illegal alien who should have never been in this country.' It remains unclear how long Garcia Aquino had been the the U.S. and how exactly he got here. Hernandez's family had reported the teen missing on Sunday, March 30, after he failed to return home from visiting Garcia Aquino at the coach's Lancaster residence. The teen, who lived in Sun Valley, had taken a train to the Antelope Valley the day before he was reported missing. When the boy's brother tried to phone him later that day, the coach answered the boy's cellphone and said the boy was busy and could not talk. According to the family and investigators, Daniel Hernandez, the boy's father, later called the coach and insisted he drop the teen off near the family's home. After the boy's disappearance, investigators used data from cellular devices, cellphone towers, and other tracking systems and determined that the suspect visited the Oxnard area near McGrath State Beach and the Santa Clara River, according to law enforcement sources, who were not authorized to discuss the probe. A search by LAPD investigators and FBI agents led to the discovery of the boy's body alongside North Harbor Boulevard, north of West Gonzales Road. Investigators did not specify the cause of death.
