Photo: ULISES RUIZ / AFP / Getty Images
For: The Opinion
Wednesday, November 13
The Mexican woman persecuted by the Light of the World who obtained asylum in the United States
Judith Hernández, from 46 years , is part of a family originating from Jalisco, Mexico , which has decades of membership in the church of La Luz del Mundo, of the so-called Apostle Naasón Joaquín García .
She herself was part of the choir and the finance committee.
“ Part of my salary, of the fruits of my work, I contributed to the church in tithes and offerings “, recalls the woman, in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.
However the arrest in 2019 of García with 19 charges of sexual abuse of minors, child pornography and trafficking human made Judith remember that in her teens she was sexually abused, and raise her voice.
“I looked up the court documents and read the accusations against Naasón. I saw details about what the agents had found on his electronic devices, photos and videos of sexual acts with minors. At that moment I realized that I had been lied to all my life ”, Sentence.
The woman assures that she was attacked sexually “by a person from the top of the church. He was a man from a very important family within the organization that was at the direct service of the apostle at that time, Samuel Joaquín Flores. I was 12 years old and I never spoke about it.
Judith assures that the reasons were that “in the church La Luz del Mundo If something bad happens to you, your parents will be the first to tell you ‘shut up’ . And if you speak it, the whole community will come against you. ”
The woman assures that she believes that there are many girls who, like her, have suffered abuse . She says she remembers an anecdote from when she was around 4 years old, where she was taken along with dozens of other girls to a pool to dive along with the supposed “servant of God”, Samuel Joaquín.
Asylum
This was followed by threats: “ I was so scared that I couldn’t get out of the house. My sisters were the ones who attacked me the hardest, ”Telemundo quotes the woman, who remembers the ordeal she experienced.
Then, and after even being the victim of a raid that she considers a retaliation, turned to a lawyer to request asylum to the United States , and got it in April 2021: it is the first, unless known, awarded for religious persecution .
The US government awarded it to him for having shown sufficient evidence of being a victim of persecution and threats by members of La Luz del Mundo.
“We are waiting for you in Mexico (…) We know that you don’t have any papers,” were just some of the threatening messages that the woman received, and that were evidence that her lawyer used, who prefers to remain anonymous as well. for fear of retaliation.
Judith Hernández now seeks to help other people within La Luz del Mundo who, like her, also want to go out from there, but they are not sure how to do it without being a victim of threats from other members.
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