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New lawyers for the leader of a Mexico-based megachurch charged with human trafficking and child rape, attorneys Ken Rosenfeld, far left, and Allen Sawyer, at podium, say La Luz del Mundo leader Naasón Joaquín García and his family are paying their legal fees and the prosecutor's fears that church followers could raise his $50 million bail are unfounded, during a news conference outside the East Los Angeles temple of La Luz del Mundo Friday, June 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The leader of Mexican megachurch La Luz del Mundo is scheduled to return court Friday in a child rape and human trafficking case.
Naasón Joaquín García and his co-defendants were arrested earlier this month on suspicion of child rape, statutory rape, molestation, human trafficking, child pornography and extortion. The charges in the 26-count felony complaint detail allegations involving three girls and one woman between 2015 and 2018 in Los Angeles County.
The defendants will appear in Los Angeles Superior Court for an arraignment and bail review hearing.
Joaquín García, Susana Medina Oaxaca and Alondra Ocampo have not yet entered pleas, though their attorneys have denied any wrongdoing. They have appeared in superior court twice already.
Joaquín García is being held on $50 million bail, believed to be the highest ever set in Los Angeles County.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has said he believes there might be more victims in the case and urged them to come forward. He repeatedly called Joaquín García "sick" and "demented," which defense attorneys claim may have tainted a potential jury.
Prosecutors have asked a judge to bar the defense attorneys from working closely and sharing information with members of the church. Deputy Attorney General Amanda Plisner said the attorney general's office also is worried the church may try to identify the victims.
The defense attorneys have said the request is inappropriate. Judge Francis Bennett ordered the sides to compromise.
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