A California soccer coach charged in a 13-year-old's death is accused of
assaulting other teens
[April 10, 2025]
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California youth soccer coach charged with
killing a 13-year-old boy last month has also been accused of assaulting
at least two other teens in recent years, prosecutors said.
Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino is charged with killing Oscar Omar Hernandez
and then dumping his body along a roadside, the Los Angeles County
District Attorney's Office said. Garcia-Aquino briefly appeared in court
Tuesday, where his arraignment was scheduled for April 30.
Garcia-Aquino, 43, was charged with one count of murder, with the
special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission or
attempted commission of lewd acts with a child. The charges make him
eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility
of parole.
Prosecutors on Tuesday also charged him with a sexual offense or lewd
act upon a child involving a teenager around 14 or 15 years old at
Garcia-Aquino’s then-home in the LA suburb of Sylmar in 2022; and one
felony count of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense
involving a 16-year-old boy in Palmdale, north of Los Angeles, in
February 2024.
The 13-year-old boy was reported missing by his family March 30 after he
boarded a train to visit the coach in Lancaster, north of Los Angeles,
prosecutors said Monday. His body was found several days later in
Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles.
The boy's mother, Gladys Bautista, told ABC 7 in Los Angeles that her
son was a happy kid who loved soccer.
“He didn’t need to be treated like an animal. That was my son,” Bautista
said during a news conference last week.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an email to The
Associated Press that Garcia-Aquino is from El Salvador and that they
have requested local law enforcement to notify ICE before he is released
and hold him until he can be placed into federal custody for
deportation.
[to top of second column]
|
California’s sanctuary law generally prohibits cooperation between
law enforcement and immigration officials but makes exceptions for
those convicted of certain violent crimes. Asked if it would notify
ICE if Garcia-Aquino is released, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department said in an email: “The suspect’s immigration status is
not part of the investigation.”
The LA County Public Defender's Office, which is representing
Garcia-Aquino, offered condolences to the victim's family.
“We will be reviewing the evidence in this case and will vigorously
defend against these serious charges,” Angela Cheung with the
office's Major Cases Unit said in a statement. “At this time, we
have no further comment.”
Garcia-Aquino was a youth travel coach with the Hurricane Valley
boys soccer club in the Sylmar area, and worked with different age
divisions, Sheriff Robert Luna said. The Associated Press left phone
and text messages with the club Wednesday.
Many youth soccer coaches take classes to be licensed through the
California State Soccer Association — South, known as Cal South. The
Associated Press left a voicemail with the organization to see if
the club had required Aquino-Garcia to be licensed through its
program, which requires coaches to have their fingerprints cleared
by the Department of Justice before they are allowed on the field
with youth.
___
Associated Press writers Julie Watson in San Diego and Michael R.
Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
