Teen Found Dead in Ditch After Being Last Seen With Soccer Coach

Another tragedy strikes under California’s watch — and this time, it cost a 13-year-old his life.

Oscar Omar Hernandez, a young soccer player with big dreams, vanished from his Lancaster home last weekend. Four days later, he was found dead in a ditch — 70 miles away in Ventura County. And who was the last person seen with Oscar? His soccer coach — a man now behind bars on unrelated sexual assault charges.

Oscar’s sister, Alejandra, fought back tears during an interview with local media.

“We had that person at our home,” she said. “He even helped us look for Oscar.”

The “person” she’s talking about is Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, a soccer coach who’s now the center of a firestorm. According to Oscar’s family, Garcia Aquino was with the boy on Saturday — the day Oscar never came home.

Oscar’s brother Jose tried calling him that day. Garcia allegedly picked up Oscar’s phone and told him the teen “wasn’t available.” Later, he told Oscar’s father he’d dropped the boy off “near the house.” That’s when the family knew something was wrong — and called police.

Garcia Aquino is currently in custody on a $100,000 bond — arrested Wednesday for an entirely different case involving an alleged sexual assault from February 2024. At the time, LA County Sheriff’s investigators looked into the assault but didn’t file charges. The victim in that case was a man, and prosecutors now say Garcia Aquino attempted rape, sodomy, or oral copulation. Despite his disturbing past, he remained free — and around children.

“This man should never have been allowed near kids,” said a retired LAPD detective who spoke with us anonymously. “The system failed this family.”

This tragedy raises familiar and chilling questions: Why was this man still coaching kids? Why did prosecutors pass on charging him last year? And how many other families could be at risk?

Once again, California’s lax criminal enforcement is in the spotlight. Critics have long warned that progressive criminal justice policies — pushed by left-leaning politicians and activist DAs — let dangerous predators roam free. This case adds fuel to that fire.

“If the state had done its job in 2024, Oscar might still be alive,” one outraged community member told a local news station during a Thursday night vigil.

Oscar came to the United States with his family just three years ago, fleeing Honduras in search of safety and opportunity. A talented soccer player, he hoped to someday play professionally. Now, that dream is buried in a ditch off a quiet Ventura County road.

Police have not yet ruled Garcia Aquino a suspect in Oscar’s death. The autopsy report is still pending. But the community — and Oscar’s family — aren’t waiting around for official labels.

“We know who was with him last,” said Alejandra. “And we want justice.”

This heartbreaking story is far from over — and California officials have some explaining to do.

Stay with us as we dig deeper into how a known predator was allowed to continue working with children — and what really happened in the hours before Oscar’s life came to a tragic end.