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Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On April 7, Christian David Vargas, aged 22, was apprehended under a warrant accusing him of lewd and lascivious battery involving a minor under 16. This case marks the third accusation against Vargas, alleging sexual activity with girls below 16. Each incident reportedly took place at Ignite Life Center (404 NW 13th Avenue), where Vargas’s father, Mark Vega, served as the senior pastor.
Mark Vega faces charges for not reporting suspected child abuse, linked to four instances where he allegedly knew about young men engaging in sexual activities with minors at the church but neglected to inform authorities. Gabriel Hernandez received a five-year prison sentence, Noel Cruz was given three years of probation, and proceedings against Vargas are ongoing.
For more details on the initial two cases involving Vargas, click here.
The recent sworn complaint against Vargas details that the victim, then 15, reported the events to authorities in July 2023. The victim, along with her family, attended Ignite Life Center. She disclosed to a Gainesville Police Department detective that she and Vargas, who was 17 during the alleged incidents, had been exchanging “flirtatious and sexual” messages via Discord and Snapchat.
The victim said she first agreed to meet Vargas for sex in June 2021, and they met in a room at the church known as “The Furnace,” which had a couch. Three days later, she said, they met for sex again in “The Covenant Room,” which had cots and mattresses at the time because the church was preparing for the Ignite Life Summer Internship program. She said she met him again in “The Furnace” later that week, and they had sexual intercourse again; a few months later, they reportedly met to have sexual intercourse in a locked room above the main sanctuary, and the victim said that Vargas entered a code to enter the room. The victim said the last two incidents, in December 2021, occurred in the men’s bathroom near “The Furnace.”
The victim reportedly said that Vargas told her to buy condoms and to get a “Plan B” pill because his parents watched him “like a hawk,” so he could not make the purchases. She said their meetings were brief because Vargas had to “sneak away” to meet her.
The detective reported that in messages from December 2021, the victim told Vargas she didn’t want to have anything more to do with him, and Vargas reportedly pleaded with her to continue having sex with him; he reportedly offered to give her vapes (containing nicotine and/or marijuana) if she would continue having sex with him.
Vargas has been charged with lewd and lascivious battery with a victim under the age of 16. He has no local criminal history but is facing two other cases with similar charges. Judge Robert Groeb set bail at $250,000 in the warrant for Vargas’s arrest, and Vargas has posted bail.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law