Soccer Coach charged with Murder of Teen found in Oxnard faces additional Sexual Assault Charges

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. – During Monday's press conference, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced charges filed against the soccer coach last seen with the missing 13-year-old found dead in Oxnard near McGrath State Beach.

43-year-old Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino was charged with murder with special circumstances in the death of missing teenager, Oscar Omar Hernandez. He was scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles.

No plea was made on Tuesday and arraignment was continued to April 30th.

13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez left his San Fernando Valley home on March 28th to help out his soccer coach – Garcia Aquino – make some soccer jerseys, who would "pay him well." His family dropped him off at a San Fernando Valley Metrolink station where he made his way to Lancaster, CA.

His mother video chatted with her son on the train where he was okay.

Reports from KCAL say Hernandez's family attempted to contact him while he was gone but were unsuccessful. When one of his siblings called his phone on the night of March 28th to check on him, Garcia Aquino answered and said the boy couldn't talk because his hands were full of paint.

Garcia Aquino was supposed to drive the boy back to his home the following morning, but when he didn't show up, the family searched for him throughout the night. His family reported him missing on Sunday morning, March 30th.

Just 3 days later, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) located a body near the Santa Clara Riverbed by McGrath State Beach in Oxnard on April 2nd, which was later confirmed to be Hernandez.

Authorities searched cellphone data, cellphone towers, and other tracking devices and discovered that Garcia Aquino had visited Oxnard area the Los Angeles Times reports around the time of the boy's disappearance. They have yet to disclose Hernandez's cause of death.

43-year-old Garcia Aquino was a youth travel soccer couch for the Hurricane Valley Boys Soccer Club in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles County. Authorities say he had no reported criminal history.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Garcia Aquino was an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador.

On the same day Hernandez was found in Oxnard, the soccer coach was charged for a separate, unrelated felony charge of a 16-year-old who was coached by Garcia Aquino, and who was allegedly sexually assaulted at his home in the Antelope Valley in February 2024.

He now faces an additional felony charge from a 2022 sexual assault of another minor at his former Sylmar residence. Garcia Aquino was not charged at the time because the victim refused to testify against him.

Authorities believe there may be more victims of Garcia Aquino in the Los Angeles and Antelope Valleys.

Aquino faces a minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Hernandez, and faces special circumstances as the killing happened “during the commission or attempted commission of lewd acts with a child.” Meaning he could face the death penalty if found eligible. He could serve additional years if convicted of the 2022 and 2024 sexual assault charges.

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.