The soccer coach, who was identified as the last person to contact the missing 13-year-old boy’s family, was questioned about the disappearance and booked on unrelated sexual assault charges, according to law enforcement sources and court records.
Police said an agency that appears to match Oscar Omar Hernandez’s explanation was found earlier this week on an Oxnard road, but Ventura County medical consultants have yet to verify their identity.
The man in custody, Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, was arrested by LAPD detectives on a warrant issued earlier that day in an unrelated sexual assault case investigated last year by the LA County Sheriff’s Office.
“This individual has not been arrested or charged in connection with the Hernandez case,” LAPD told NBCLA on Friday afternoon. “Our investigation is ongoing.”
Garcia Aquino was scheduled to appear on Monday after failing to appear in the first courthouse in the Criminal Court building in downtown Los Angeles.
He was being held in LA County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
According to criminal charges in the 2024 investigation, Garcia Aquino is facing a single assault attempting to commit another felony.
Records show that the alleged assault occurred in February 2024 and was investigated by the LA County Sheriff’s Department of Special Victims.
Several law enforcement agencies said the LA County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case in 2024 but did not file criminal charges for unknown reasons.
NBC La requested case notes from the DA’s office, which are normally provided on request. This would detail the decision of the case’s office, but the spokesman refused to provide it.
The DA’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the submission decision.
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