Three victims who filed lawsuits against Ignite Life Center and the Orlando-based Florida Multicultural District Council of the Assemblies of God have reached a settlement with the church and its parent organization.
In March, three people who were allegedly abused sexually as teens by an Ignite Life Center volunteer Gabriel Hemenez filed the lawsuits through the Horowitz Law Firm in Fort Lauderdale.
According to a WUFT article published Tuesday, the lawsuits were resolved during mediation on Oct. 7. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
On March 6, the Florida State Attorney’s Office finalized a plea deal with Hemenez on two felony counts of molestation against a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, along with a misdemeanor count of battery, according to a Gainesville Public Information Services article, to a five-year prison sentence. Once released, Hemenez will have eight years of supervised probation and will permanently be a registered sex offender.
Gainesville Police Department (GPD) detectives arrested Hemenez in July 2023 in Lakeland and charged him with sexually abusing multiple minors. A GPD investigation revealed that he had abused three teenage boys during the Ignite Life Center’s Youth Internship, a month-long overnight camp, in July 2021.
Adults from Ignite Life Center and employees of the district were on site to manage operations when the abuse occurred, the suits said. They also said that in 2019 Hemenez had admitted to Ignite Life Center leadership—including Head Pastor Mark Vega, Pastor Esther Omeben and Pastor Nicholas Bruce—that he sexually abused another church member.
GPD officers also arrested two other people from Ignite Life Center on sexual battery charges, according to articles posted by Horowitz Law.
Mark Vega’s son, 20-year-old Christian Vargas, was arrested on July 18, 2023, and charged with lewd or lascivious battery on a victim under 16 and lewd or lascivious conduct by an adult in two separate cases.
On Feb. 19, 22-year-old Noel Cruz, a church leader and son of Ignite Life Center assistant pastor Joey Cruz, was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a victim under the age of 16.
Cruz’s next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14, and Vargas will appear in court on Feb. 3.