Youth soccer coach charged with murder after 13-year-old boy found dead by roadside
A trusted youth soccer coach is now facing murder charges after the body of a 13-year-old boy was found dumped by the side of a road in California.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the community, 43-year-old Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino has been charged with the murder of Oscar "Omar" Hernandez, a young boy who had traveled by train to visit the coach at his home. The details emerging from this case are disturbing on multiple levels.
Garcia-Aquino was a coach with Hurricane Valley Boys' Soccer Club in Sylmar, working with children of various ages. What's particularly alarming to parents is that he had no criminal record that would have raised red flags during standard background checks.
But as investigators dug deeper, they uncovered something far more disturbing than a single tragic murder.
The soccer coach is now also facing charges in two additional sexual abuse cases involving teenagers, with prosecutors revealing that he had allegedly sexually assaulted a teenager at his former home in December 2022, and another 16-year-old boy in February 2024.
"These cases are tragic and the Hernandez family... You have our deepest sympathy for a loss that words cannot even begin to describe," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a news briefing that left many in attendance visibly shaken.
The case has sparked serious concerns about how predators can infiltrate youth sports organizations despite safeguards. According to Sheriff Robert Luna, Garcia-Aquino had "befriended a Sylmar family who allowed their juvenile son to stay with him at his residence in Palmdale," a pattern of behavior that investigators believe may have been repeated with other potential victims.
Authorities are now urgently seeking additional victims, believing there may be more children who suffered abuse at the hands of the soccer coach. The Special Victims Bureau is handling the investigation, which focuses on physical and sexual abuse of children.
Perhaps most disturbing is how Garcia-Aquino allegedly gained access to his victims. After establishing trust with families through his position as a coach, he would invite children to his home – a classic grooming technique that went undetected until it was too late for young Oscar Hernandez.
The case has also sparked political controversy, with US Attorney Bill Essayli calling it "an avoidable crime and the result of failed border policies," noting that Garcia-Aquino was an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador.
For parents of children in youth sports programs, this case represents their worst nightmare – a trusted adult in a position of authority who used that trust to gain access to vulnerable children. While background checks remain important, experts stress that predators often have no prior records, making vigilance and communication with children about appropriate adult behavior more crucial than ever.
The district attorney has charged Garcia-Aquino with one count of murder with the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission or attempted commission of lewd acts with a child, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
As the community mourns young Oscar Hernandez, parents across the country are left wondering how many other youth coaches might be hiding similar dark secrets.
