Former ILC Associate Pastor’s Son Noel Cruz Sentenced to Three Years Probation
On February 19, 2024, the associate pastor at Ignite Life Center Jose Cruz's son, Noel Cruz, was arrested on a warrant for lewd or lascivious battery against a person under 16 years old.
Jose Cruz left his pastoral position at ILC sometime after his son’s arrest.
Yesterday, Noel Cruz was granted a withheld adjudication on a charge of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony. Noel Cruz pleaded no contest, meaning he did not admit or deny committing the offense. Judge David Kreider accepted the plea deal. The charge was amended the same day he pled out.
Eighth Judicial Circuit Public Information Officer Darry Lloyd said Noel Cruz’s charge was changed because the prosecutor would've been able to prove he committed aggravated assault beyond a reasonable doubt over lewd or lascivious battery.
Noel Cruz's old charge carried a statutory maximum of 15 years in prison, while his new charge carried five, but under the plea deal he was not convicted and won't spend any time in prison.
Noel Cruz statutorily raped a 15-year-old girl when he was 20 years old.
Noel Cruz's probation will be terminated in 18 months if he has no violations. Cruz's probation conditions are as follows:
Former volunteer and Ignite School of Ministry student Gabriel Hemenez was convicted of child molestation in March 2024, and sentenced to five years in prison.
ILC head pastor Mark Vega’s son and Noel Cruz’s co-defendant, Christian Vargas, remains out on bond on charges for sexually coercing young girls at the Church.
The victim’s sister in Noel Cruz’s case previously spoke with GnvInfo. She said her sister, V, told her father about the sexual abuses Noel Cruz and Vargas committed against her. V, who was 15, began having sex with Vargas, 17, in June 2021, and two months later would be sexually abused by Noel Cruz, as he was 20 when she was 15.
According to a Gainesville Police Department Supplemental Report, after V told her father, under Vega’s guidance, they arranged a private meeting between themselves, V, Lisa Vega, Jose and Noel Cruz, Vargas, pastor Esther Ombeon, and pastor Nick Bruce. They all met at Mark Vega’s house in High Springs.
Mark Vega said, “Jail will not resolve the issue,” and encouraged all parties to handle the matter internally.
GPD Sergeant John Pandak supervised the report but told GnvInfo that there’s “no probable cause to charge Mark Vega with anything.”
At the time of the meeting, Mark Vega had been serving as a GPD chaplain, stepping down sometime after the sexual abuse cases started coming out.
Velazquez said her sister didn’t get any say in the meeting. “I doubt she talked at all. From what I’ve heard, it was just my dad, Mark, and [Jose Cruz] talking, and Noel and Christian apologizing.”
V and her father had scheduled depositions in Noel Cruz's case but they were cancelled.
Lloyd said that depositions being cancelled is very common because several parties have to be present.
After Hemenez was arrested, Mark Vega released a statement that said, “Ignite Life Center has been fully cooperative with the investigative process being led by the Gainesville Police Department.”
In the settled civil lawsuits regarding Hemenez’s crimes, ILC admitted they “did not report that Gabriel Hemenez was the subject of sexual abuse suspicions, rumors, reports, and/or complaints to law enforcement prior to February 2023.”
For information on ILC’s celebrity connections, in addition to their local, national, and international connections, refer to the investigation below.
Edited April 29, 2025: Article stated Noel Cruz was charged in February 2024. He was charged in October 2023 via sworn complaint and arrested on a warrant in February 2024.
Edited Aug 7, 2025: Added citations for sources.
The listed dates of offenses in Noel Cruz’s case were off by one month and this was corrected.
Edited May 27, 2026: Added clarification on the charges referenced in the article and added mention of Noel Cruz having his charge amended the same day he took the plea deal.
