Hemenez is one of three men arrested since July 2023 for sexually abusing kids at the Gainesville-area Assemblies of God church.
On March 6, 2024, former Ignite Life Center church leader Gabriel Hemenez pled guilty to two counts of felony lewd and lascivious conduct with two teenage boys. At the time of his arrest in July 2023, Hemenez was charged with criminal sexual abuse of four boys.
The four victims told police investigators that they were attending the Ignite Life Center's summer camp program, the Ignite Life Summer Internship, when they were each sexually abused by Gabriel Jimenez, an adult leader, and chaperone for the program. The summer camp takes place at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, and is operated by the Ignite Life Center church and the Florida Multicultural District Council of the Assemblies of God.
According to the terms of the plea agreement, which means that Hemenez will avoid trial, Hemenez pled guilty to two felony counts in exchange for a 5-year prison sentence, followed by eight years of sex offender probation. He will be a registered sex offender for life. He will also undergo a psychosexual evaluation that may lead to treatment while he is behind bars. According to police records, when confronted with the allegations of the four boys at the time of his arrest, Hemenez admitted to some of the allegations and did not deny the others.
Horowitz Law represents three of the four identified victims, as well as additional children who say they were abused at Ignite Life Center.
Two more men from the church, Christian Vargas and Noel Cruz, have also been arrested and charged in recent months for abusing kids at Ignite Life Center. Their criminal cases remain pending. Both of the men are church leaders and the sons of two pastors at the church.
The clergy sexual abuse lawyers at Horowitz Law represent children and adults who are survivors of sexual abuse by priests, ministers, rabbis, deacons, nuns, and other clergy members in civil lawsuits, including church leaders at Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual abuse or sexual assault at a church or other religious organization, please contact us at 954-641-2100.