Gladys Bautista Vasquez, the grief-stricken mother of a 13-year-old boy whose soccer coach allegedly sexually abused and murdered him, initially supported the death penalty for her son’s killer. However, she has since had a change of heart and now believes the perpetrator should endure a lifetime of suffering for his heinous crime.
“Life behind bars is a punishment that lasts longer [than execution],” stated Bautista Vasquez at a recent press conference, flanked by two enlarged photos of her late son. One image captured a younger Oscar Omar Hernandez subtly smiling in a black tie; the other showed him as a teenager playing his favorite sport in a soccer jersey, shorts and tennis shoes on a green field.
On Monday, Bautista Vasquez and her family attended the news conference with their attorneys to announce two legal claims against the county and city of Los Angeles. The lawsuits allege negligence in failing to protect her child.
These lawsuits are a component of the family’s desperate search for justice. The body of the Sun Valley teen was found 60 miles away along a road in Ventura County. The family hopes their civil legal action will help bring about changes to better protect children from other sexual predators in parks across the region.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office reported that acute ethanol intoxication was the cause of Oscar Omar’s death.
First Degree Murder
Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, the coach of the Huracan Valley boys’ soccer club, faces first-degree murder charges in the teen’s death, which include special circumstances allegations that make the 43-year-old man eligible for the death penalty. The special circumstance charge claims that the murder occurred during the commission or attempted commission of lewd acts with a child.
The alleged sexual predator reportedly invited 13-year-old Oscar Omar to his Lancaster home to help work on soccer jerseys on March 28. When the teen failed to return home, his family reported him missing and organized a search. The coach, feigning concern, participated in the search. The coach was later charged with murder, days after the boy’s body was found.
The family is demanding accountability from local government entities for the sexual abuse that may have occurred in their parks in relation to the killing of Oscar Omar, leading to the current legal claims.
Background Checks, Missed Opportunities
“If the city and the county had done thorough background checks, we would not be here today,” said attorney Luis A. Carrillo. He added that the LA District Attorney George Gascón’s backlog of 13,000 cases waiting for criminal charges to be filed led to the teen’s death.
He suggested that among those cases was a criminal complaint against Garcia Aquino for an alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy in Palmdale in February of 2024.
Criminal charges in the Palmdale case were filed nearly a year later. Unfortunately, this action came too late for Oscar Omar, who “had already gone missing,” stated Michael S. Carrillo, another attorney for the plaintiffs. In a tragic coincidence, the coach would be arrested for the reported Palmdale incident on the same day Oscar Omar’s lifeless body was found.
That may not have been the only missed opportunity that could have prevented the late teen’s untimely death, according to attorney Michael S. Carrillo. He cited another allegation of sexual abuse involving a teenager that reportedly occurred at Garcia Aquino’s former residence in Sylmar in December 2022. The county district attorney filed criminal charges against the coach in this case more than two years later, on April 8 of this year, which was unfortunately too late to save Oscar Omar.
The Coach and the Parks
The legal claims said that various city and county properties in the Northeast San Fernando Valley may have been used by Garcia Aquino to “groom” and sexually abuse children. The locations mentioned in the lawsuits include Whitsett Fields Park in North Hollywood, Balboa Soccer Fields Park in Encino, Paxton Park in Pacoima and Hansen Dam Park in Lake View Terrace, all within the city of LA. Additionally, El Cariso Community Regional Park in Sylmar is identified as a county park.
Oscar Omar’s father, Oscar Daniel Hernandez, expressed frustration that coach Garcia Aquino remained free and working with children despite serious past allegations of sexually abusing adolescents. At the press conference, he said in Spanish, “Queremos justicia … que le caiga [al entrenador] todo el peso de la ley,” meaning “We want justice … for [the coach] to face the full force of the law.”
Lie and Deceit
Oscar Omar’s family suspects Garcia Aquino impersonated the teen in texts originating from the boy’s phone to create an alibi for a crime the coach had already committed.
Garcia Aquino even dared to visit the boy’s family at their Sun Valley home and offered to help search for the missing teen, recounted the boy’s father to the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol.The coach insisted he had driven Oscar Omar back to the valley, dropping him off at another location because the teenager planned to attend a friend’s party. But the father refutes that story, stating that his son always asked permission from him or his older brothers to go places.
Days later, the coach was arrested for an unrelated sexual assault. Shortly thereafter, Garcia Aquino was charged with the killing of Oscar Omar.
The victim’s family continues to grieve his passing as they await the wheels of the criminal justice system to turn. They also think of the “what ifs” of Oscar Omar’s passions and dreams.
Soccer and Traveling
“My son, like many young people, simply wanted to play soccer,” Oscar Daniel Hernandez told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol. Besides his passion for the sport, the boy had professional aspirations.
“He dreamed of earning a certificate to become a plumber or an electrician,” his father added, his voice breaking with emotion. “He was a good kid, and his friends remembered him fondly at his funeral.” He proudly mentioned that his son was about to obtain his legal residency and looked forward to visiting other countries. “He wanted to travel the world,” said the father.
During the news conference, Daniel Hernández Bautista, Oscar Omar’s brother, became visibly emotional. With tears in his eyes and a trembling voice, he introduced himself in Spanish and spoke his brother’s name.
Switching to English, the 26-year-old declared, “I want justice … for my little brother.”
He then returned to Spanish, stating that the world does not need individuals like Garcia Aquino who kill innocent children like his brother. With deep emotion, he said, “My brother didn’t bother anyone. He was just a simple kid.”
A Coach with a Son
Later, Daniel Hernández Bautista, another brother of the late teen, spoke with the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol, sharing that he had trained with Garcia Aquino for about six months in 2016 or 2017 in a group of 16 and 17 year olds.
“We trained and played at the Balboa [Sports Complex] and never saw anything weird. At the time, we were all almost all grown up,” he stated, adding that the coach seemed committed to soccer and did not give off a bad vibe. He also said he knew Garcia Aquino was a family man and had a son, who also played in his dad’s league.
“His son’s name is Bryan, and I got to train and play with him,” he recalled. “Bryan must now be in his mid-20s.”
For his part, Josué Concepción Hernández Bautista, another brother of Oscar Omar, also sat with the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol. He recalled attending a few games to see his little brother play, but never meeting Aquino Garcia, only two assistant coaches.
“Those coaches attended my brother’s funeral and told me they never imagined that Aquino Garcia would be capable of hurting any child,” said Josué Concepción Hernández Bautista. He also learned that those assistant coaches had only coached with Aquino Garcia for four months.
A Lifetime in Jail
Luis A. Carrillo stated at Monday’s press conference that, to his “understanding,” the LA County District Attorney’s Office plans to seek a life sentence for the coach, but it has not yet announced its sentencing request and did not respond to requests for comment.
Bautista Vasquez expressed her hope for a sentence of life in prison for the coach, saying in Spanish, “I hope they throw the book at this monster; I want him to rot in jail.”
Garcia Aquino’s next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 23, at which time a preliminary hearing is expected to be set.