New York Yankees legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara have been accused of covering up the sexual abuse of a minor that allegedly took place at their home and at their church’s summer camp, according to a lawsuit filed last week at the New York State Supreme Court in Westchester County.
While the Riveras are not the defendants in the suit, their names repeatedly cropped up throughout it.
“I commend our young client for her bravery and commitment to truth,” a statement from the plaintiff’s attorney at Horowitz Law read. “We thank her for sounding the alarm on a potentially dangerous environment for kids. Our lawsuit alleges that Mariano and Clara Rivera had a duty to protect our client and missed the opportunity to save her from the harms of child sexual abuse.”
The mother of the victim, identified only as Jane A. Doe, attended the Rivera’s Refuge of Hope Church summer internship at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, FL, in 2018 at the urging of Clara Rivera. While there, the defendant, who was 10 years old at the time and is still a minor, was allegedly sexually abused by what is described as a “much older girl” by Horwitz Law, who was also a minor at the time
According to the suit, which seeks financial damages, Doe claims that she was abused on multiple occasions in the camp’s dormitories and shower, where the girl was “fondling and penetrating” the plaintiff’s breasts, buttocks, and genitals. A Florida police report claimed that Doe was molested 15 times in a two-week span.
When Doe’s mother discovered the potential abuse, she brought it to the attention of Clara, who initially promised to investigate the matter. Instead, the suit alleges that Clara and Mariano Rivera” each separately isolated and intimidated Jane A. Doe to remain silent” to protect the reputation of their church and its summer programs.
“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,” the Riveras’s attorneys at Ruta, Soulios, & Stratis LLP told amNewYork. “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.”
“The Riveras are known throughout New York for their charitable work and especially for their commitment to serving underprivileged children. It’s unfortunate they are being targeted by false allegations.”
Another incident of alleged sexual abuse of Doe involving that same defendant took place at the Riveras’s former home in Rye, NY, at a church barbecue in Aug. 2018.
From Aug. 2021 and running into 2022, the suit alleges that Doe was sexually abused by Ruben Tavarez, an adult who worked for the Riveras’s church as a youth leader. When more complaints were made, neither Clara nor Mariano took action.
While the specifics of the abuse are not listed, the suit claims that Tavarez “obviously showed inappropriate physical affection,” which was witnessed by members of the church’s staff, before sexually assaulting her.
Three men associated with the Refuge of Hope Church and its summer camp at Ignite Life Center have already been arrested within the last 18 months for sexually abusing minors. Two of the men, like Tavarez, were church leaders and sons of Ignite Life pastors.
Rivera, 55, is widely considered the greatest closer in baseball history. He pitched for the Yankees from 1995 to 2013, recorded 652 saves, and won five World Series titles with the franchise. He was unanimously elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
