Ignite Life Center Survivor’s Sister Speaks Out
An Ignite Life Center (ILC) survivor’s sister, Leslie Velasquez, has decided to speak out against the crimes taking place at the congregation.
Three people from ILC have been arrested: (1) Former Ignite School of Ministry (ISM) student convicted child molester Gabriel Hemenez; (2) head pastor Mark Vega’s son, alleged rapist Christian Vargas; and (3) former associate pastor Jose Cruz’s son, alleged statutory rapist Noel Cruz.
Contrary to previous reports by GnvInfo and every other news outlet, Hemenez was not just a volunteer and later employee before becoming a volunteer again. These reports are accurate and truthful, but not the full truth.
Velasquez revealed that Hemenez was a ISM student while he undertook these positions. ILC pastor/public relations manager Nicole Gomez did not disclose this in her interview with GnvInfo over a year ago after Hemenez’s arrest in July 2023.
This is further confirmed by a picture of an ISM yearbook that was sent by a whistleblower which shows Hemenez pictured next to other ISM students who became staff. Their names and faces were redacted.
Velasquez’s 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 July 2021, and a month later would be sexually abused by Noel Cruz, as he was 20 when she was 15.
Noel Cruz would be charged for these incidents.
Vargas is not being charged for this since it was legally consensual but he is facing charges for raping a 12 year old and sexually coercing a 14 year old.
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.
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 GPD’s chaplain, stepping down sometime after the sexual abuse cases started coming out.
Velasquez said her sister didn’t get any say in this meeting. “ I doubt she talked at all. From what I’ve heard it was just my dad, Mark, and Joey talking, and Noel and Christian apologizing.”
Velasquez said her father regrets it. “He didn’t have malicious intent towards my sister…. Mark and them kept convincing them that the right thing to do was to hash it out themselves and let things work out the way they need to work out and not involve the law. Like ‘Oh they’re young.’ No. They still did something that’s very—very wrong."
Velasquez began traveling to ILC from her home in Pennsylvania when she was in her preteens for their Junior Ignite Internships. When she turned 16, she began going to ISM while her parents still lived in Pennsylvania. Velasquez was one of the youngest ISM attendees, with some students being in their late 20s or early 30s.
“The first few months it felt okay but like it is with everyone, you first start going and think everyone is pretty cool until they start showing who they actually are. After a few months I started to see people change and things unfolded,” said Velasquez.
Velasquez went on to say that in her first year an ISM student left abruptly without telling anyone. She left a letter for Velasquez and all the other ISM students, but Vega and lead pastors at ILC made sure they were never read.
Velasquez is still a Chirstian but described ISM as making her struggle with her faith. “After a while, everything at ISM felt forced. I still love Jesus…. but the way they’d go about stuff was very discouraging. It felt forced instead of natural. They’d give certain side comments on things I would wear…. It was a very toxic environment.”
“They’d make comments about stuff I like and do,” said Velasquez. “I like to watch anime and they’d suggest things like not watching it or what I would wear. I’d feel bad about being myself. When I was with friends I was myself and happy but the second a leader would come in I would genuinely stop talking. The level of anxiety I got when they walked into the room was very crazy and scary. It wasn’t really fear but I was expecting what they’d say if I talked and I didn’t wanna hear it. At times it’d seem like they were trying to be loving but it was still forceful.”
Velasquez described how the pastors at ILC put her in an uncomfortable position. “A lot of times they’d be mad if you’re talking to people, especially the boys from ISM; you couldn’t breathe around them…. I still had friends from back home who were boys but when you’re in ISM you’re not supposed to talk to the opposite sex in your first year…. I had a picture of me and two guys from ISM and I got so targeted because of that picture. They asked why I ‘liked them,’ but they’re literally 24 years old, why would I like them? Anytime I was around those guys [ILC pastors] called my name or thought I was in love with them.”
Velasquez described strange behaviors of some individuals attending ILC. “I remember in my first year one of the guys in ISM who was related to a pastor; he’s Mark’s nephew [Isaac Rey]. He was in ISM and left and when he came back all the leaders were saying to not go near him and stay away from him. It was the vibe he’d do something to us in an inappropriate way. I still to this day don’t understand why that happened…There was [also] this older guy who’d go to Ignite and he’d take pictures of any little kid he saw…. He’d come up to the parent and be like ‘Hey look at this picture I took of your kid.’ Why is he doing that when he has no connections with anyone’s kid?… His name is Vernon Griffin.”
Velasquez said Vargas committed a court order violation against one of her siblings, who is a minor. Her sibling was reportedly playing Fortnite with someone in Mark Vega’s house, where Vargas lives. Vargas reportedly walked into the room, with knowledge V’s sibling could hear him and said “Hi.” Court orders forbid Vargas from having unsupervised contact with minors.
Velasquez said that Noel Cruz also invited her sibling to a Fortnite game, but that this was because her sibling was on her boyfriend’s Fortnite account, and that he didn’t think the invite was going to her sibling.
Velasquez said Noel Cruz and Vargas haven‘t contacted her or V directly. “Me personally no, [my sister] never told me she saw him. We never bump into them and I think it's because of the ankle monitor but we always bump into the church leaders and it's so annoying. As of now, [they] haven‘t come to our job, or texted or called. They used to take [Vargas’] phone so he’d contact people on discord on his computer. I don’t know if he has his phone back. They definitely had him on a tight leash.”
Vargas may be on a “tight leash,” but there is credible evidence suggesting Mark and Lisa Vega loosened it when he was legally permitted to travel to White Plains, New York from April 1-April 10.
Despite court orders saying he was in NY with his son, Vega appeared at ILC on April 7.
Vega added clarification to his presence, and indicated his wife, Lisa Vega, was traveling with him saying, “I’m not supposed to be here. My wife is not supposed to be here.” Mark Vega then said with air quotes, “We are technically on vacation.”
The sermon stopped live streaming shortly after Vega said he was “technically on vacation.” It is unclear if Vargas left New York early with his parents, if Mark and Lisa Vega traveled back to White Plains, or if he was in NY without parental supervision. It is equally unclear how it was ensured that Vargas followed court orders.
Vega at an Ignite Life Center sermon on April 7
Former Yankees baseball pitcher Mariano Rivera lives in White Plains and is a longtime friend of Mark Vega. Vega used to be the Yankees' chaplain while Rivera played.
In June 2021, Rivera started the Mariano Rivera Foundation (MRF) at ILC (Main Street Daily).
Velasquez said Rivera is just as guilty as the pastors at ILC. “I don’t care if he didn’t do anything. I know he knows everything that happened and it helps Mark and Lisa regarding Chirstian. I think he’s as guilty as anyone else. He has this big platform, use it to tell the truth and bring about justice, not lie and further sweep things under the rug that people are gonna pull. People keep telling the truth and so many things are coming to light. He’s gonna end up looking just as dumb as Mark and Lisa look.”
“We believe in the youth; we believe in giving back to the community, and we believe in creating opportunities for those in need to be successful,” Rivera told TV20 at the MRF grand opening.
“The [MRF] program seeks to mentor high school boys who come from underprivileged backgrounds. Through the program the students will gain a mentor and learn everything from etiquette to changing tire,” reported Main Street Daily.
“For us, success looks like building relationships with the students,” MRF program coordinator Esther Omeben told Main Street Daily.
“She’d give me anxiety and I didn’t want to be near her,” Velasquez said about Omeben.
MRF reportedly started programs in Houston, and New Rochelle which is the location of Rivera’s church.
MRF's website contains a picture of Omeben, Lisa Vega, Nicole Gomez, and Vargas standing with MRF students and employees. The picture was taken before the arrests.
Noel Cruz and Vargas have both been granted several continuances since they were first charged. Velasquez’s comments indicate they’ve been hanging around their houses playing video games as if they’re not worried about their criminal charges.
Vargas still regularly attends ILC, the same place where he committed the crimes.
Velasquez said that Mark Vega and lead pastors at ILC would make her uncomfortable by trying to encourage a relationship between her and Vargas.
“Ignite likes to force relationships,” said Velasquez. “Almost every relationship at Ignite was forced and they listened to him cause they think he’s God. When I was in ISM and around Mark when Chrsitian would be nearby Mark would ask if I ‘liked him.’ Like, no. It was always pushed and it was so awkward. At one point he did have feelings for me or whatever but I never felt it back. One Christmas year me and my family stayed at Mark’s house for about two weeks and while my parents were gone it was me, my sister, and Christian in the house in the upstairs living room. We were watching TV and Christian was sitting super close and laid his head on me and I’m like ‘get off me I feel uncomfortable.’ He’d make you very uncomfortable especially if you’re a girl. I hated being near him and any of the leaders because I didn't wanna hear them say ‘Why don’t you like Chirstian?’ Like stop. I always wondered why he did what he did with my sister, was it because I didn’t like him so he targeted my sister and tried to pursue her?”
Velasquez said Noel Cruz had red flags as well. “When we’d talk it was very [clear] Noel was that type of person, like always having sex with people. From my understanding when he was in New York that’s all he did, like sex with like a whole bunch of girls and stuff like that. He took business with that and was proud of that, it was like a trophy accomplishment. For me personally he never said remarks to me or did stuff or said anything but I’m sure he’d make other people feel uncomfortable because Ignite forces relationships. They’d force him and the other students together.”
Velasquez described interactions with ILC lead pastors when she and her sister used to work at Chick Fil A.
On August 29, V saw pastor Nick Bruce while working. Velesquez said “My sister said when he saw her he looked like he was gonna shit himself. That says everything I need to know. If you’re looking scared it's because you know the truth is being said about you; they’re scared. They're not gonna show it online but I know they are. They all lost their jobs [at Urban Strategies | Refugio].”
Velasquez said she saw Lisa Vega while working in July. “[I was taking] orders outside and I was getting ready to get the car info and she rolls her window down and I see her crusty face. She was like ‘HI!’ and smiling…. she was like ‘HI! How are you!’ I said ‘give me one second’ and told my coworker I’m freaking out and she made me uncomfortable and asked them to switch orders. Whenever I see them I get anxious moments; my hand was shaking. It's like why do I let them get to me but the anxiety they give you is insane. I’ve seen Nicky G and she was kind of just staring at me, like do you want me to say ‘hello?’ I’m not gonna talk. I saw Yaneidy and Azael and they were staring.
Velsaquez said the incidents with pastor Nicole Gomez and former ILC pastors Azael and Yaneidy Nunez also happened in July.
Azael and Yanediy Nunez left ILC about a month after this incident due to getting a job at a different AG church in North Carolina.
Velasquez said every single lead pastor at ILC knew about the sexual abuses and didn’t report it, including Azael and Yanediy Nunez. She said the Nunez’s leaving Gainesville doesn't make them less guilty.
Velasquez said that when Azael and Yandeidy Nunez saw her they “looked scared.”
“They looked at me like I was a ghost. They looked at me like I was Satan himself,” Velasquez said.
After Velasquez and her family left ILC they started attending Destiny Community Church. She compared and contrasted her experiences there and at ILC. “Ignite forces everything down your throat. Ignite makes you feel bad about the smallest things. On their Facebook it looks great on the outside but after you’re in for a few months you’re forgotten and pushed to the side. It feels unlike what they say they are. They try to change who you are in a very forceful way. When you look at Destiny Community Church there’s nothing of that. They’re very welcoming people. What you see on Facebook is what you get. You can breathe; nobody is forcing anything down your throat. It is genuinely so sincere and loving. They have a heart of gold and are the embodiment of what Christian Churches should be.”
On Wednesday several GPD Detectives, including Sergeant Pandak, will be giving depositions in Vargas’ case.
Noel Cruz will hear a deposition from GPD Officer Ranisha L. Johnson on November 20.
Former GPD Chief Lonnie Scott knew Mark Vega through his chaplain-hood at GPD.
GPD Officer Bobby White helped build the basketball court at ILC with his Basketball Cop Foundation (PRNewswire).
Basketball Cop Foundation
GPD Sergeant Tony Ferro affiliated himself with ILC through the Mariano Rivera Foundation.
Velasquez said GPD hasn’t reached out to her or her family about any investigations.
Pandak said “I haven’t; we have victim advocates that reach out to them through the State Attorney’s Office.”
Velasquez said the last time GPD contacted her family was when Noel Cruz was arrested in February.
GPD Captain Paris Owens confirmed to GnvInfo that they are not investigating Mark Vega for evidence concealment.
Owens said she could be contacted by calling the criminal investigations’ number and asking for her. If you want to tell Owens exactly what is happening at ILC, call 352-393-7706.
Public statements by GPD Officer Gilberto Gonzalez indicate that GPD should have a Spanish translator available if needed.
