Prosecutors Pursue Coverup Case Against Ignite Life Center Head Pastor Mark Vega
Update | Nov 15: Added explanation for the date state prosecutors say the coverups began and number of victims.
The State Attorney's Office of the Eighth Judicial Circuit formally filed charges against Mark Vega on Friday for failing to report suspected child abuse. Vega is the head pastor of Ignite Life Center (ILC) Church.
Information filed by Assistant State Attorney Lua Lepianka states Vega, while serving as a "church pastor or other spiritual leader," did not report the "sexual abuse of one or more juveniles” despite being required to do so.
The document specifies that Vega did not report sexual abuse against minors on or after December 7, 2021, and took actions to “willfully prevent another person from doing so.”
Vega's case has been pending since August 13, 2025, after a Gainesville Police Department (GPD) detective filed a sworn complaint against him.
According to the sworn complaint, on December 7, 2021, Robert Moramarco, who was at the time responsible for managing ILC’s surveillance systems, informed Vega and his supervisor, ILC associate pastor Esther Omeben, that he observed Vega’s son, Christian Vargas, physically turning cameras away in an area of ILC known as “the Furnace.”
“From Moramarco's own observations, it does not appear that anything was done by Church Leadership or [Vega] in response to this information,” the sworn complaint states.
According to the sworn complaint, “the Furnace” is a location that is “somewhat secluded and rarely used that was frequented by juveniles who would engage in, among other things, sexual activity."
In July 2023, Vargas was arrested on charges of one count of lewd or lascivious battery and one count of lewd or lascivious conduct for sexual abuse against two minors at ILC.
The sworn complaint confirms Vega had direct knowledge of an incident in 2019 where ILC member Gabriel Hemenez sexually assaulted another man on a bus. Vega continued to allow Hemenez to hold a youth leadership position in ILC.
Hemenez is currently in state prison following convictions in March 2024 for sexually abusing multiple minors at ILC.
The sworn complaint states Vega organized what the victim’s parents described to police as an “intimidating” meeting that concealed sexual abuse commited by the son of then—ILC pastor Jose Cruz, Noel Cruz, who is currently on probation.
Vega allowed Noel Cruz to remain in ILC, along with Vargas and Hemenez.
In total, Vega failed to report sexual abuse committed against eight minors, the sworn complaint details. However, the report raises the possibility of further victims, stating that Hemenez told police Vega allowed him to be in a room alone with “approximately 25 to 30 sleeping boys.”
Failing to report suspected child abuse is a felony and carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
According to court records, Lepianka has recommended Vega be entitled to a bond of $50,000 upon his arrest.
No warrant has been filed yet. This page will be updated when a warrant for Vega's arrest is issued.
