By Staff Reporter

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Christian David Vargas, 22, is facing legal trouble after being arrested on April 7. The arrest warrant accuses him of lewd and lascivious battery involving a victim under 16. This marks the third allegation against Vargas, who has been charged with engaging in sexual activities with minors. All reported incidents took place at Ignite Life Center, located at 404 NW 13th Avenue, where Vargas’s father, Mark Vega, served as the senior pastor.

Mark Vega himself is facing charges for allegedly failing to report suspected child abuse. He is accused of being aware of instances where young men engaged in sexual activities with underage girls at the church and not alerting authorities. Among those involved, Gabriel Hernandez received a five-year prison sentence, while Noel Cruz was sentenced to three years of probation. The legal proceedings against Vargas, in two separate cases, continue.

For more information on the initial cases involving Vargas, click here.

The most recent complaint against Vargas was filed in July 2023, based on a statement from the victim, who was 15 at the time of the alleged events. The victim and her family were part of the Ignite Life Center congregation. She informed a detective from the Gainesville Police Department that she and Vargas, then 17, exchanged flirtatious and sexual messages via Discord and Snapchat.

The victim recounted that their first meeting for sexual activity occurred in June 2021 in a church room known as “The Furnace,” which featured a couch. They reportedly met again three days later in “The Covenant Room,” which was equipped with cots and mattresses in preparation for the Ignite Life Summer Internship program. Their encounters continued in “The Furnace” and a locked room above the main sanctuary, which Vargas accessed with a code. Their last reported meetings took place in December 2021 in a 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