A youth soccer coach is accused of killing 13-year-old California boy. Police fear there may be more victims
By Emma Tucker and Josh Campbell, CNN
(CNN) — A youth soccer coach charged in the killing of a 13-year-old California boy was previously accused of preying upon other children, prompting authorities to make a public plea for information about other potential victims.
The suspect, Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, 43, was accused in the killing of Oscar “Omar” Hernandez whose body was found by the side of the road in Ventura County, California, last week.
“I know it’s not easy,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a Tuesday press briefing, urging possible victims to come forward.
“I know it could be either embarrassing, you don’t want to tell somebody, but it’s very important that we bring justice not only to the family here to my left, but any families that may have been victimized by this,” Luna said as he stood next to the teen’s parents and sister.
Garcia-Aquino 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, which makes him eligible for the death penalty, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
He is an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN. On Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told CNN the agency had issued a detainer for Garcia-Aquino, potentially paving the way for his deportation should he be released.
Authorities have not released the teenager’s cause of death, citing an ongoing investigation by the medical examiner.
CNN has reached out to the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office to determine whether it is representing Garcia-Aquino.
The teen was reported missing by his family on March 30 after he boarded a train to visit Garcia-Aquino at the coach’s home in Lancaster, Hochman said. The coach is accused of killing Hernandez and then “dumping his body” in Oxnard, roughly 60 miles southwest, where his body was found on April 2, Hochman said.
Garcia-Aquino was a youth travel soccer coach with the Hurricane Valley Boys’ Soccer Club in the Sylmar area, working with different age divisions, and he had no reported criminal history, Luna said at the Tuesday news conference.
The complaint against Garcia-Aquino was amended Tuesday to include 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, Hochman said. The soccer coach allegedly sexually assaulted a teenager at his then-home in Sylmar on December 10, 2022, according to the district attorney.
Garcia-Aquino is also accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in Palmdale on February 22, 2024, in a separate case, Hochman said.
“These cases are tragic and the Hernandez family … You have our deepest sympathy for a loss that words cannot even begin to describe,” Hochman said at the news briefing.
Officials asked anyone with information about these alleged crimes or other unreported incidents involving Garcia-Aquino to contact the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Police Department, or call the CrimeStoppers hotline at 1-800-222-8477.
Federal agents assisted local law enforcement officials leading the investigation, authorities said. In a statement to CNN, US Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said: “This was an avoidable crime and the result of failed border policies. We cannot and will not tolerate illegal aliens who flout our nation’s immigration laws then prey on children.”
He continued: “Federal law enforcement will continue to be very aggressive in locating, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal illegal aliens.”
Luna said the soccer coach in 2024 “befriended a Sylmar family who allowed their juvenile son to stay with him at his residence in Palmdale,” and the family subsequently filed a criminal report with the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station alleging sexual abuse of their child.
That case was assigned to the LASD Special Victims Bureau – North Team, which investigates physical and sexual abuse of children, including adult felonious sexual assaults, Luna said.
“Working with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office from the Antelope Valley courthouse, detectives learned that there was another unrelated child sexual abuse case being handled by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill division,” Luna continued, referring to the 2022 incident.
Based on the nature of the offenses, the sheriff said, special victim’s bureau detectives “believe there may be additional victims.”
Amid the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on immigration, Luna made a point to quell any concerns potential victims and witnesses may have regarding their immigration status.
“If for some reason anybody fears coming forward, even as a youth or a family, because you may be here undocumented, we’re not going to ask about that,” said Luna. “Whatever the circumstances may be, whether you speak the language or you don’t — I don’t care where you come from. Please come forward, let us know right away.”
CNN’s Hanna Park contributed to this report.
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