Eva Garcia de Joaquin, the matriarch of the family at the head of the Church The Light of the World (LLDM), was arrested this Wednesday at her luxurious residence east of Los Angeles, California, in a new and A sweeping judicial action by the United States Department of Justice exposes an organized crime and sex trafficking network that operated for decades under the protection of the religious congregation.

Garcia de Joaquin is named in a broad federal indictment as the centerpiece and “longest-serving member” of a conspiracy to sexually exploit dozens of minors and women for the benefit of her husband, Samuel Joaquin Flores, leader of LLDM from 1964 to 2014, and her son, Naason Joaquin Garcia, the current leader of the church who is already serving a sentence of nearly 17 years in a California prison for sexual abuse.

The indictment, filed in federal court in Manhattan, New York, details that Eva Garcia personally acted as a “groomer” or victim preparer. According to the document, “Garcia de Joaquin continually participated in the exploitation of the church community.” The text is specific: the woman personally convinced or forced two minors to perform sexual acts with her husband, and in one case, “physically subdued one of the girls so that her husband could rape her.” The cover-up network The criminal operation was not a solo operation. Eva Garcia acted in conjunction with other women identified as Rosa Sosa and Azalea Rangel Melendez—the latter a fugitive in Mexico—who were in charge of arranging the victims’ international travel so that the so-called “apostles” could abuse them in countries such as the United States, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Australia. While facilitating the abuse, Eva Garcia enriched herself with the tithes and offerings of the faithful. She presided over the “Eva Garcia de Joaquin Foundation,” an organization that promoted itself as a champion of the role of women and the family, while living in opulence. During the search following her arrest,Authorities found more than a million dollars in cash in various currencies, gold and platinum coins, luxury watches and jewelry in his home. A secret door was found under her bed leading to a compartment containing an additional $220,000 and a jade USB flash drive.

The indictment alleges that the Los Angeles residence where she lived with her husband was built and decorated with extreme luxuries, including gold-leaf moldings, by church members who worked for the family without pay.

The court document also exposes systematic efforts to destroy evidence and silence victims following the arrest of Naason Joaquin Garcia in June 2019. Leading this cover-up were church legal spokesperson Silem Garcia Pena (at large) and Naason’s nephew, Joram Nunez Joaquin, who was arrested the same day as his grandmother near Chicago.

Nunez, who falsely posed as an attorney, pressured minor victims and their families at meetings held in Los Angeles hotels to keep them from reporting Abuses of authorities. He collected and destroyed sex toys, lingerie, and electronic devices as evidence.

One victim was even taken to Mexico and held captive "under the watch of armed guards" for months to prevent her from testifying, until she needed assistance from U.S. authorities to escape.