Immigration authorities have confirmed that a youth soccer coach accused of sexually abusing and killing one of his players is an illegal migrant.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer with the Los Angeles County jail for Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, a 43-year-old Salvadoran citizen living unlawfully in the United States, the agency confirmed Wednesday to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Garcia-Aquino is accused of killing 13-year-old Oscar “Omar” Hernandez, a San Fernando Valley, California, resident found dead earlier in April.
Hernandez was reported missing by his family March 28 after he visited Garcia-Aquino, his soccer coach, but never returned, according to local prosecutors. He had boarded a train to Lancaster, California, and was never heard from again.
The 13-year-old boy’s body was later found in Oxnard, California. Prosecutors believe Garcia-Aquino attempted to sexually abuse him before the murder.
“No parent should ever have to endure the unimaginable pain and sorrow of learning their child has been murdered,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Monday in a prepared statement. “Oscar simply boarded a train and little did he or his family know that he would never return.”
“Sexual predators who target victims for their own gratification will be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Hochman continued.
Hernandez was a student at Sun Valley Magnet High School, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. Garcia-Aquino worked with kids of various age groups as a youth soccer coach for the Hurricane Boys Soccer Club.
The accused killer has a history of alleged sexual abuse against minors, and investigators believe there may be other victims. He was accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in December 2022 at his previous home in Sylmar, Los Angeles, according to prosecutors.
“What a depraved individual this was,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said during a Fox News interview. “[Hernandez] trusted his coach. His family trusted his coach — who came here illegally from El Salvador, but we’re not sure when.”
“ICE has lodged a detainer,” McLaughlin continued. “We don’t know if that will be honored because, of course, LA is a sanctuary city and these sanctuary city politicians are playing Russian roulette with the lives of American children and American citizens. It’s disgusting.”
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond when asked by the DCNF if it will honor the detainer lodged by ICE.
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