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The soccer coach, imprisoned for allegedly murdering 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez, was charged in 2022 with an additional count of alleged sexual assault on a teenager.
Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, was scheduled to make her first appearance in court in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon.
He was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the death of Oscar, who was reported missing on March 30 after his parents said they went to visit Garcia Aquino in Antelope Valley.
Garcia Aquino was first arrested last week in an unrelated sexual assault case in 2024. There, Garcia Aquino is said to have attacked the 16-year-old at Lancaster’s house.
The 2022 incident, which was investigated but has never been charged before, involves alleged sexual offences against a 14- or 15-year-old child, which police said happened at Garcia Aquino’s former residence in Sylmer.
In an interview Monday, members of Oscar Hernandez’s family wondered whether until last week the authorities had not waited for criminal charges for the 2024 sexual assault.
The LA County District Attorney’s Office said the 2022 case was filed with prosecutors in August 2023, and at the time, additional forensic testing was required for the case.
“After all tests have been completed and final results have been received, our office began the filing process on April 7, 2025, after a preliminary interview with the victim,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
Regarding the 2024 case, the DA’s office said the sheriff’s detective presented evidence in May 2024 and once again the prosecutor needed additional forensic testing.
“Once all the tests are completed and we receive the final results, our office began the filing process on March 25, 2025,” the statement said.
Law enforcement officials told the NBCLA that they received numerous calls to the public after requesting information at a press conference on other unreported cases involving the coach.
The US Lawyer’s Office in Los Angeles issued a statement Tuesday in response to questions about Garcia Aquino’s immigration status.
“It was an avoidable crime and the result of a failed border policy,” said Attorney Bill Essay. “We cannot tolerate illegal aliens who underestimate our country’s immigration laws and then prey on children.
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