Students Claim Sexual Abuse at Ignite Life Center’s Summer Program

Several lawsuits claim program operators were negligent in their supervision.

Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, and the Florida Multicultural District for the Assemblies of God have been sued by two minor plaintiffs who claim they were sexually abused while at Ignite Summer Internship programs in 2018 and 2021.

Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida / Photo via Google Maps

Plaintiffs John Doe and Jane Doe are not named in the lawsuits due to their age and the nature of the allegations.

According to the plaintiffs, they both became familiar with the Ignite summer program when Ignite’s Senior Pastor Mark Vega would visit their church, Refuge of Hope Church in New York.

They say Vega lauded the Ignite summer program as a “blessing” to the children who attended and also assured parents their children would be safe.

Among the assurances were promises that “qualified, responsible, well-trained adults associated with DEFENDANTS were employed to supervise and care for the children participating in the Ignite Summer Internship, including in the dormitories while children slept,” according to the lawsuits.

Jane Doe

Plaintiff Jane Doe claims she was repeatedly sexually abused in the dormitories by another minor attendee, MG. Doe was 10 years old. The lawsuit alleges that Ignite Life Center and the defendants, through reasonable care, should have known that MG was sexually abusing Jane Doe, yet “they took no action to protect Plaintiff and other children from her.”

The summer program requires the minor attendees to surrender their cell phones, however, during one phone call to her mother during the summer, Jane Doe revealed information that made her mother concerned about Jane Doe’s safety.

Her mother claims she reached out to Clara Rivera, the wife of her New York Pastor Mariano Rivera. Clara allegedly told Doe’s mother she would work to investigate the concerns.

The next week, the Riveras visited Ignite Life Center and conversed privately with Jane Doe. The lawsuit claims the Riveras learned sufficient information to be concerned about abuse of Doe by MG, but instead “intimidate[d]” her to “remain silent” about the abuse to “avoid causing trouble” for the Riveras or Ignite Life Center.

Jane Doe has also filed a lawsuit against the Riveras.

John Doe

John Doe, who attended the Ignite summer internship in 2021, claims that Gabriel Hemenez, who was allegedly a graduate of the Ignite Life Center school of ministry and a ministry leader in the church, sexually abused him in the boys’ dormitory.

Hemenez pleaded no contest in March 2024 to two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a person at least 12 years old but younger than 16, according to reporting by the Gainesville Sun. He was sentenced to five years in prison and eight years of probation.

Last week, Hemenez was charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, according to reporting by WUSF.

Both lawsuits include claims for negligence on the part of the defendants.

John Doe is also suing Ignite Life Center based on vicarious liability for the acts of its employee, Hemenez.

Other lawsuits

Christian Vargas, the son of Ignite Pastor Vega, was sued in February for sexual battery. Ignite Life Center and the Florida Multicultural District for the Assemblies of God were named as co-defendants.

According to Gainesville Public Information Services, Vargas was arrested in July 2023 for incidents that occurred at Ignite Life Center. The charges included two counts of lewd or lascivious behavior 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 or 18.

Three previous lawsuits filed in March 2024 that also alleged sexual abuse at the Ignite summer program were settled in October.

Neither Ignite Life Center nor the Florida Multicultural District for the Assemblies of God responded to MinistryWatch’s request for a statement before the time of publication.

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