Youth Soccer Coach Charged With Sexual Assault, Murder of Player Is in U.S. Illegally, Has Prior Victims

LA County Sheriff's Department

The deportation of criminal illegal aliens can't happen fast enough, as yet another child has been murdered by someone who shouldn't even be in this country.

Oscar Omar Hernandez, age 13, was allegedly killed by his soccer coach, Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino on March 28; his body was found in a remote area in Oxnard, California, near soccer fields the team had played at, on April 2. A murder charge has been filed against Garcia Aquino with a special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed "during the commission or attempted commission of lewd acts with a child." The cause of death has not yet been revealed.

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According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, relying on multiple law enforcement sources, Garcia Aquino is an "undocumented immigrant from El Salvador."

It gets worse. From the Times:

Garcia Aquino was also the subject of an LAPD investigation into sexual assault of a minor in 2022 but was never charged because at that point the alleged victim declined to testify against him, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

And, at the time of his arrest, Garcia Aquino had just been charged with assault with intent to commit rape in a separate case that allegedly occurred in February 2024. The victim in that case was also one of Garcia Aquinos' players; according to court records he “took advantage of a position of trust and confidence in committing the assault." At a press conference Monday, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said that the coach:

“[B]efriended a Sylmar family who allowed their juvenile son to stay with him at his residence in Palmdale. The family subsequently filed a criminal report with the Palmdale Sheriff station alleging sexual abuse of their child.” 

But we're still not done. Luna continued:

"During the investigation and while 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 involving Garcia Aquino."

Based on those investigations and what was found in the investigation of Hernandez' murder, Luna believes that there are other victims who have not yet come forward.

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So, that's a total of four victims that we know of - the 2022 victim, two victims in 2024/25, and then Hernandez. But despite two ongoing investigations in which Garcia Aquino was accused of harming his players, parents were apparently not informed?

In this case Garcia Aquino also took advantage of a position of trust. Omar Hernandez played for the Huracán Valley Soccer Club, where Garcia Aquino coached and is also listed as an "admin" on one website. According to Hernandez' parents, Omar took the LA Metrolink train from his home in Sun Valley, in the northern San Fernando Valley, to his coach's home in Palmdale, in the Antelope Valley, on the day officials believe he was killed. Authorities say the purpose of that trip was to "visit" his coach. Later that day, when Omar's brother called Omar's phone, Garcia Aquino answered and said that Omar was busy and couldn't come to the phone. Later, Omar's father called the coach and demanded that he bring the boy home. After a few hours the coach told Omar's father that he'd dropped the boy off "near" the family home, at which point Omar's father called authorities to report his son missing.

Investigators tracked Garcia Aquino's cell phone to the Oxnard area, where on April 2 a search party found Omar's body alongside Gonzalez Road near Harbor Boulevard, just a few miles from the River Ridge Athletic Fields - where the team regularly plays as part of the Coast Soccer League.

How Was He Still Coaching?

How could this happen? If this coach was under investigation in 2022 and in 2024, why wasn't the soccer club notified? Or were they? Based on information on the club's website and a club soccer stats site, Garcia Aquino was in some kind of leadership position at the club. The site currently features a quote from Garcia Aquino on the home page; his name is the only one listed on the site.

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The quote reads:

This is a remarkable achievement and a tribute to our community of volunteers and members alike. Without their commitment, dedication, and support, this would not have been possible.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge everyone who has worked tirelessly to enable this miracle of competitive soccer in our great San Fernando Valley. 

There have been many obstacles and challenges to this great project, however, everyone has come together to make this happen.

We're going to be very visible because we're coming to compete this season with high-level matches. Wishing everyone a fantastic season of competitive football and remember to represent the game with a positive spirit with respect and dignity for all.

And on this team page on the US Premier Soccer League site, he is listed as the team admin.

Creepily, when one clicks on the "Become a Member" option on the team's page, Facetime immediately opens up.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened in the 2022 incident, if that victim was part of the soccer club or not, about Garcia Aquino's immigration status and when he first entered the country, related to Garcia Aquino's status as a certified youth soccer coach with California State Soccer Association, and questions about the club itself. There are no records of any business entity for the club registered with the California Secretary of State, and we're continuing to investigate.

Increased Focus on Deporting Illegal Aliens

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In the wake of Omar's murder, officials in the Trump administration reiterated their plans to continue aggressively locating and deporting criminal illegal aliens. Bill Essayli, the newly-minted US Attorney for the Central District of California, told Fox News' Bill Melugin:

"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 and prey on children. Federal law enforcement will continue to be very aggressive in locating, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal illegal aliens."

And DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told Melugin:

"13-year-old Oscar "Omar" Hernandez was an innocent child who was exploited and killed by this depraved illegal alien who should have never been in this country. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem's leadership, child predators, pedophiles, and murderers will be hunted down and removed from America's communities."

Unfortunately, Los Angeles County's new District Attorney, Nathan Hochman, has not yet committed to seek the death penalty in the case.

UPDATE April 9, 2025, 9:00 A.M.

Charges have now been filed in the 2022 case and the case that LAPD's Foothill Division was investigating when Hernandez went missing:

Los Angeles County D.A.'s Office tells 7 on Your Side Investigates they are now charging Garcia-Aquino for the assault of a 14-year-old boy that took place back in December of 2022.

The D.A. is also now charging Garcia-Aquino for allegedly assaulting a 16-year-old boy. That alleged assault took place in May of last year.

The D.A.'s office told us in both of those previous cases, it interviewed the victims and had results from forensics testing. In fact, prosecutors say the process of filing the charges in that 2024 case started about two weeks ago, just days before 13-year-old Oscar Hernandez was reported missing.

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