Former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, are denying the accusation that they covered up child sexual abuse that allegedly happened in their Rye, NY home and at a summer camp connected to their church.
A lawsuit filed on January 16 in State Supreme Court in Westchester accuses Mariano, 55, and Clara of having pressured the plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, into keeping quiet about allegedly being sexually abused in the dorm and shower at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, FL, and later at the Rivera home by an older minor girl.
“Mariano and Clara Rivera do not tolerate child abuse of any kind and allegations that they knew about or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false,” Joseph A. Ruta, the Riveras’ attorney, said in a statement on Thursday. “The very first time they heard about these allegations was nearly four years after the alleged incident, when in 2022 a New York attorney sent a letter requesting a financial settlement. This was followed by a second letter in 2023, from a different Florida law firm, again requesting a financial settlement.
“The lawsuit, which seeks financial damages for the Riveras’ alleged failure to act on alleged incidents that were never reported to them, is full of inaccurate and misleading statements which we have no doubt will not hold up in a court of law.”
Mariano, the only player in baseball history to be unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame, is now the pastor at the Refuge of Hope church in New Rochelle, which supports the camp where the alleged abuse is said to have occurred.
According to court documents, Jane Doe complained to her mother about the alleged abuse, which she says happened during a 2018 summer internship at the camp. The mother allegedly raised the issue to Clara, who runs the church’s day-to-day operations, and she says Clara promised to investigate.
The lawsuit also accuses Ruben Tavarez Jr., the adult son of Refuge of Hope Associate Pastor Ruben Tavarez Sr., of abusing Jane Doe in August 2021. Tavarez has yet to address the allegations. Us has reached out for comment.
The complaint reads: “Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of Jane Doe (the victim), the Riveras each separately isolated and intimidated Jane Doe to remain silent about her abuse by MG (the suspect) to avoid causing trouble for Refuge of Hope and the Ignite Life Summer Internship.”
The abuse is then said to have continued at the Riveras’ home during a barbecue that the plaintiff and suspect were invited to, but not the plaintiff’s parents.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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