The coach of a missing 13-year-old who was found dead last week in Ventura County has been charged with the boy's murder, and now authorities are searching for additional victims who may have been sexually assaulted by him.
Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, has been formally charged with murder in the death of 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez, whose body was found in a ditch in a densely wooded area in Oxnard last week.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman held a joint press conference alongside LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and Sheriff Robert Luna to announce the charges. Hernandez's family was in attendance.
Hernandez was reported missing on March 30, and loved ones have repeatedly stated that Garcia Aquino was the last person to see him alive after the teen took the train to visit his soccer coach at his home in the Antelope Valley.
"The charges allege that Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, on the date of March 28, 2025, murdered Omar Hernandez in Lancaster," Hochman said, adding that he was killed during the "commission or attempted commission of lewd acts with a child."
Two days after the missing boy's body was found, Garcia Aquino was arrested in Los Angeles on an unrelated sexual assault charge from 2024.
On Monday, Sheriff Luna provided additional details about that arrest, announcing that the victim was a 16-year-old boy who was also coached by Garcia Aquino, and who was allegedly sexually assaulted at his home in the Antelope Valley.
"In February of 2024, Garcia Aquino befriended a Sylmar family who allowed their juvenile son to stay with him at his residence," Luna said. "The family subsequently filed a criminal report with the Palmdale Sheriff's Station alleging sexual abuse of their child."
The Sheriff's Department was unaware of additional sexual abuse allegations against Garcia Aquino until last week, Luna said. Now, investigators believe there may be additional abuse victims of the traveling youth soccer coach who have not been contacted.
He urged anyone with information, regardless of immigration status, to come forward.
"There's always a fear that there are more victims and we want to make sure we account for everybody out there," Luna said.
LAPD Chief McDonnell echoed those sentiments, assuring that anyone who comes forward faces "no obstacles," and that their story will be treated "as sensitively as it needs to be treated."
Because Garcia Aquino faces special circumstances in the murder of Hernandez, he would be eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Hochman reversed the County's previous policy of seeking the death penalty just last month.
Even if convicted and sentenced to death, it is unlikely that an execution would occur, as Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted a statewide moratorium on the practice as one of his first acts in office.
Hochman said Garcia Aquino would face "at least" a sentence of life in prison if convicted of murder. He would face a maximum sentence of six years in prison if convicted on the sexual assault charge from 2024.
Additional victims or anyone with information is urged to contact either the LAPD Abused Child Unit at 818-374-5415 or the LASD Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273. Anonymous tips can be provided online or by calling the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-222-8477.