Former Chief Judge Allowed Pastor’s Son to Keep Attending Church Where Crimes Occurred Over Constitutional Concerns
Former Chief Judge Mark Mosley previously allowed Christian Vargas, the son of Ignite Life Center (ILC) head pastor Mark Vega, to continue attending the church despite being charged with committing sex crimes there, court-room videos recently obtained by GnvInfo show.
Vargas faces one count of lewd or lascivious battery and one count of lewd or lascivious conduct for allegedly raping a 12-to 13-year-old girl when he was 16 and sexually coercing a 14-year-old girl when he was 17–18.
Vargas was arrested on July 18, 2023, and appeared before Mosley the following day.
Vega appeared at the hearing to support his son, accompanied by ILC associate pastors Nicole and Adolfo Gomez, and Esther Omeben.
Mosley asked Vargas if he could afford an attorney, and he said yes. Mosley asked where he worked, and Vargas said he didn't have a job.
“I didn’t ask your dad if he could afford one—I asked if you could afford one,” said Mosley.
Vargas clarified that he personally could not afford a lawyer.
Mosley appointed a public defender, but Vargas would later retain private legal counsel in Gilbert Schaffnit.
Vega told Molsey he is a pastor and said he will ensure Vargas attends all required court hearings.
Mosley set Vargas’ bond at $40,000 and said he would be permitted to attend church, prompting pushback from the assistant state attorney, as he committed the crimes in the church.
Mosley said, “I understand that [this] happened in a church building… He’s not to have unsupervised contact wherever he goes with minors. If he's at a church, he has to be under adult supervision. If he’s at a school, he has to be under adult supervision... I’m not going to forbid him from going to church. I don’t even think I can… Constitutionally, I would have questions about whether that would be permissible.”
After the hearing was concluded, the assistant state attorney readdressed the case, asking Mosley about potential violations if Vargas and a victim attend the same church since he can’t be within 500 feet of the victims.
Mosley said if the victims are present, Vargas can’t attend church, but that he can’t prevent him from attending entirely. “A lot of things happen in houses, but I can't forbid people from going into a house because it's where it happened,” Mosley said. "I'm fairly certain that would be a violation of a constitutional right to tell somebody you can't go to church even though a crime occurred there. I understand what you're saying. That's why I put the conditions in place that I put in place of no unsupervised contact with any minors. But I'm not going to tell him he can't attend church, which is probably—even though he's in trouble—where he needs to be.”
A 2004 Gainesville Sun article shows Mosley is a pastor at Glen Springs Road Church of Christ.
Vargas was released from jail shortly after the hearing.
GnvInfo hasn’t independently verified if any victims were still attending ILC following Vargas’ release. However, it can be confirmed that Vargas has continued attending ILC, being spotted in live-streamed sermons and a social media post.
Vargas’ first appearance is the only hearing where Mosley was his judge, and he would appear before Judge William Davis at the following hearings.
Mosley left office earlier this year and was replaced by Davis, prompting Judge Robert Groeb to take over in Vargas’ case. However, Vargas’ counsel has motioned to keep Davis on the case.
