WUFT | News and public media for north central Florida
Head pastor of Ignite Life Center charged with failing to report suspected child abuse
By Maria Fernanda Camacho
December 4, 2025 at 11:48 PM EST
Mark Anthony Vega, the senior pastor of Ignite Life Center, has been charged with failing to report suspected child abuse and abandonment or neglect, a third-degree felony.
On Aug. 20, a 12-page sworn complaint was filed in Alachua County Circuit Court by Gainesville Police Department Det. Desiree Russano. An arrest warrant was issued on Nov. 20, and according to court records, Vega, 55, turned himself in at the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 24. He posted bail in the amount of $50,000 on the same day.
According to the complaint, Vega knowingly failed to report known and suspected child abuse and child sex abuse to the central abuse hotline and/or authorities. Any person with knowledge of sex abuse of minors is required by Florida law to report it to authorities. Failure to report it is a felony.
Gainesville-based law firm Michael Hines Law P.A. is representing Vega in this case, and on Nov. 25 introduced a notice of written plea of not guilty, a demand for discovery and a request for a jury trial. WUFT reached out to Attorney Michael Hines for comment on Vega’s charges but has received no answer.
According to GPD’s investigation, Vega is widely believed to be the highest-ranking pastor at the church both by current and former churchgoers. Vega is also the former chaplain of the Gainesville Police Department and the New York Yankees.
Vega’s is the fourth arrest made in relation to Ignite Life Center sexual abuse cases. Vega’s next court event for case management is set for Jan. 12, 2026.
Legal documents describe allegations of abuse taking place since 2019, including by Gabriel Hemenez, who is currently serving a five-year sentence for sexual abuse followed by eight years of supervised probation and lifelong registration as a sexual offender. He also faces three more criminal charges in Alachua County.
In 2019, after the abuse that took place during the “School of Ministry” bus trip to Kentucky, a victim of Hemenez who is identified in court records as “M.R.” reported the abuse by phone to Ignite’s church leaders.
Upon returning to Gainesville, several meetings between church leaders took place; M.R. was invited to attend one of the meetings where Hemenez was also present. In the meeting, M.R. affirmed being sexually violated by Hemenez, and Hemenez claimed that the sexual contact between the two men was consensual, according to a statement including in court records.
M.R. left the School of Ministry before graduating to avoid Hemenez, who was allowed to remain in the school. The victim also reported to police that defendant Mark Vega said he was going to “take care of it.”
Despite the allegations from 2019, Hemenez was allowed to continue as a member and volunteer of the church, especially during the 2021 summer camp called Ignite Life Summer Internship overseen by the church in Gainesville.
The complaint indicates that, in 2023, Hemenez admitted telling church leaders what he did to M.R. was not consensual and recalls that Mark Vega privately told him that “he was not giving up on him” and what M.R. reported to church leaders was merely “a bump in the road.” Hemenez also recalled being placed on probation by the church leadership for sexually assaulting M.R.
“Those same church leaders, including the defendant Mark Vega, were active in enrollment, coordination, scheduling and staffing of the summer internship program, including being on site during the program,” the sworn complaint affidavit alleges.
Civil lawsuits settled last year state that both organizations, Ignite Life Center and its parent organization Florida Multicultural District Council of the Assemblies of God, shared responsibility for enabling and covering up sexual abuse. Both the center and the district council were negligent in their responsibility to protect the victims and failed to intervene despite knowledge of the abuse, according to the lawsuits.
Jessica Arbour, an attorney for The Horowitz Law Firm, who represented the victims in an Orange County lawsuit filed against Ignite Life Center and the Florida Multicultural District of the Assemblies of God said in response to WUFT’s request for comment on Vega’s arrest that: “Mark Vega's arrest marks an important moment for the protection of kids in Florida. We are grateful that law enforcement has taken this matter seriously and will certainly cooperate with them to see that justice is served.”
Vega’s sworn complaint also mentions Christian Vargas, the son of Vega and his wife Lisa Vega, who has been on pre-trial release with a GPS monitor since July 2023 for charges of sexual abuse against a person between 12 and 16 years of age.
K.C., a young girl and alleged victim of Vargas, told GPD detectives during an interview in 2023 that she first heard of Hemenez’s sexual abuse of boys during the 2021 Summer Intership. “We knew he was sleeping inside their beds,” the complaint reads.
K.C. attended Ignite Summer Internship in 2021 and recalls that she was 14 years old when Vargas, who was then 17, began soliciting her via messages to her phone to have sex with him. The complaint stated that Vargas told the victim that she needed to have sex with him before he turned 18. K.C. recalls that Vargas continued efforts to have sex with her even after he turned 18 years old.
Another Vargas victim is identified in the complaint as A.S., who attended the church with her family. A.S. was 13 when Vargas established communication with her. Another victim, identified in court records as V.V., who was 15 years old at the time, began having sex with Vargas on Ignite Life Center property. Just like other victims, V.V. and her family were members of Ignite Life Center. V.V. described having sex with Vargas after feeling pressured into doing so and the acts continued until November of 2022, the sworn complaint shows.
In a motion filed in court in July, Vargas’ lawyer Gilbert Schaffnit shared that Vargas’ case was extremely unlikely to go to trial but rather result in a negotiation plea that could likely conclude in the next 60 days. However, during a court hearing on Nov. 3, Schaffnit said that he hadn’t met with the family yet but was going to do so the following Thursday, Nov. 6. Vargas’ next court day is set for Jan. 5, 2026.
Another former church member mentioned in Vega's complaint is Noel Cruz, who pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated assault with intent to commit felony, a third-degree offense. In January 2025, Cruz was sentenced to 36 months of probation. Cruz is the son of Jose Cruz, a former senior pastor who was described and known in the church as the second in charge.
The sworn complaint shows that V.V. is not only Vargas’ victim but also Cruz’s. In August 2021, Cruz, who was then 20, began having sex with 15-year-old V.V. after engaging in text messages with her in which he discussed his own sexual experiences.
“In November of 2022, V.V.'s parents learned that Cruz and Vargas had been having sex with their daughter since she was 15 years old and that for the most part the sex acts occurred on Ignite property,” the statement reads. After confirming the information with their daughter, they told police they understood the magnitude of the events not only as parents but as members of the Ignite Life church.
On Aug. 20, a 12-page sworn complaint was filed in Alachua County Circuit Court by Gainesville Police Department Det. Desiree Russano. An arrest warrant was issued on Nov. 20, and according to court records, Vega, 55, turned himself in at the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 24. He posted bail in the amount of $50,000 on the same day.
According to the complaint, Vega knowingly failed to report known and suspected child abuse and child sex abuse to the central abuse hotline and/or authorities. Any person with knowledge of sex abuse of minors is required by Florida law to report it to authorities. Failure to report it is a felony.
Gainesville-based law firm Michael Hines Law P.A. is representing Vega in this case, and on Nov. 25 introduced a notice of written plea of not guilty, a demand for discovery and a request for a jury trial. WUFT reached out to Attorney Michael Hines for comment on Vega’s charges but has received no answer.
According to GPD’s investigation, Vega is widely believed to be the highest-ranking pastor at the church both by current and former churchgoers. Vega is also the former chaplain of the Gainesville Police Department and the New York Yankees.
Vega’s is the fourth arrest made in relation to Ignite Life Center sexual abuse cases. Vega’s next court event for case management is set for Jan. 12, 2026.
Legal documents describe allegations of abuse taking place since 2019, including by Gabriel Hemenez, who is currently serving a five-year sentence for sexual abuse followed by eight years of supervised probation and lifelong registration as a sexual offender. He also faces three more criminal charges in Alachua County.
In 2019, after the abuse that took place during the “School of Ministry” bus trip to Kentucky, a victim of Hemenez who is identified in court records as “M.R.” reported the abuse by phone to Ignite’s church leaders.
Upon returning to Gainesville, several meetings between church leaders took place; M.R. was invited to attend one of the meetings where Hemenez was also present. In the meeting, M.R. affirmed being sexually violated by Hemenez, and Hemenez claimed that the sexual contact between the two men was consensual, according to a statement including in court records.
M.R. left the School of Ministry before graduating to avoid Hemenez, who was allowed to remain in the school. The victim also reported to police that defendant Mark Vega said he was going to “take care of it.”
Despite the allegations from 2019, Hemenez was allowed to continue as a member and volunteer of the church, especially during the 2021 summer camp called Ignite Life Summer Internship overseen by the church in Gainesville.
The complaint indicates that, in 2023, Hemenez admitted telling church leaders what he did to M.R. was not consensual and recalls that Mark Vega privately told him that “he was not giving up on him” and what M.R. reported to church leaders was merely “a bump in the road.” Hemenez also recalled being placed on probation by the church leadership for sexually assaulting M.R.
“Those same church leaders, including the defendant Mark Vega, were active in enrollment, coordination, scheduling and staffing of the summer internship program, including being on site during the program,” the sworn complaint affidavit alleges.
Civil lawsuits settled last year state that both organizations, Ignite Life Center and its parent organization Florida Multicultural District Council of the Assemblies of God, shared responsibility for enabling and covering up sexual abuse. Both the center and the district council were negligent in their responsibility to protect the victims and failed to intervene despite knowledge of the abuse, according to the lawsuits.
Jessica Arbour, an attorney for The Horowitz Law Firm, who represented the victims in an Orange County lawsuit filed against Ignite Life Center and the Florida Multicultural District of the Assemblies of God said in response to WUFT’s request for comment on Vega’s arrest that: “Mark Vega's arrest marks an important moment for the protection of kids in Florida. We are grateful that law enforcement has taken this matter seriously and will certainly cooperate with them to see that justice is served.”
Vega’s sworn complaint also mentions Christian Vargas, the son of Vega and his wife Lisa Vega, who has been on pre-trial release with a GPS monitor since July 2023 for charges of sexual abuse against a person between 12 and 16 years of age.
K.C., a young girl and alleged victim of Vargas, told GPD detectives during an interview in 2023 that she first heard of Hemenez’s sexual abuse of boys during the 2021 Summer Intership. “We knew he was sleeping inside their beds,” the complaint reads.
K.C. attended Ignite Summer Internship in 2021 and recalls that she was 14 years old when Vargas, who was then 17, began soliciting her via messages to her phone to have sex with him. The complaint stated that Vargas told the victim that she needed to have sex with him before he turned 18. K.C. recalls that Vargas continued efforts to have sex with her even after he turned 18 years old.
Another Vargas victim is identified in the complaint as A.S., who attended the church with her family. A.S. was 13 when Vargas established communication with her. Another victim, identified in court records as V.V., who was 15 years old at the time, began having sex with Vargas on Ignite Life Center property. Just like other victims, V.V. and her family were members of Ignite Life Center. V.V. described having sex with Vargas after feeling pressured into doing so and the acts continued until November of 2022, the sworn complaint shows.
In a motion filed in court in July, Vargas’ lawyer Gilbert Schaffnit shared that Vargas’ case was extremely unlikely to go to trial but rather result in a negotiation plea that could likely conclude in the next 60 days. However, during a court hearing on Nov. 3, Schaffnit said that he hadn’t met with the family yet but was going to do so the following Thursday, Nov. 6. Vargas’ next court day is set for Jan. 5, 2026.
Another former church member mentioned in Vega's complaint is Noel Cruz, who pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated assault with intent to commit felony, a third-degree offense. In January 2025, Cruz was sentenced to 36 months of probation. Cruz is the son of Jose Cruz, a former senior pastor who was described and known in the church as the second in charge.
The sworn complaint shows that V.V. is not only Vargas’ victim but also Cruz’s. In August 2021, Cruz, who was then 20, began having sex with 15-year-old V.V. after engaging in text messages with her in which he discussed his own sexual experiences.
“In November of 2022, V.V.'s parents learned that Cruz and Vargas had been having sex with their daughter since she was 15 years old and that for the most part the sex acts occurred on Ignite property,” the statement reads. After confirming the information with their daughter, they told police they understood the magnitude of the events not only as parents but as members of the Ignite Life church.