Yankees Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara Rivera, have been accused of covering up child sexual abuse in their home and at their church.
The allegations were made against Mariano, 55, and Clara in a lawsuit filed in New York on Thursday, January 16.
The complaint, filed in the Supreme Court of Westchester County and obtained by Us Weekly, alleges the Riveras covered up the abuse of a young girl linked to their church, Refuge of Hope in New Rochelle, New York.
Mariano is the lead pastor at the church while Clara is in charge of its day-to-day operations. They are accused of being negligent after discovering the young girl (known as “Jane Doe”) was allegedly being abused by an older minor girl (known as “MG”) and did not act following the discovery.
The alleged abuse occurred during a 2018 summer internship at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, a program that was supported by the Refuge of Hope church. The plaintiff was encouraged by Clara to take part in the internship, who suggested it to her mother, according to the complaint. The plaintiff’s mother became concerned about her daughter’s safety at the camp following phone calls from the plaintiff, which she then raised with Clara, who assured Jane Doe’s mother she would investigate further, per the suit.
According to the complaint’s claims, the Riveras made their way from New York to the summer camp in Florida where they “learned or should have learned information” about the sexual abuse.
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 alleged abuse then continued at a barbecue at the couple’s former home in Rye, N.Y. following Jane Doe’s return from the summer camp, according to the lawsuit. The suit claims the couple invited the church’s children to the barbeque where Jane Doe was left unsupervised with MG despite the earlier incidents that allegedly occurred at the Florida summer camp. The parents of the children, including Jane Doe’s mother, were allegedly not invited to the barbecue.
The complaint claims the Riveras did not take appropriate action and chose to deal with them internally in order to “avoid scrutiny, public scandal, and potential financial losses from allegations of child sexual abuse becoming public information.”
Ruben Tavarez Jr., the adult son of Refuge of Hope Associate Pastor Ruben Tavarez Sr., is also accused in the lawsuit of abusing the girl in August 2021.
Baseball star Mariano found fame playing 19 seasons as a closer for the New York Yankees. During his stint from 1995 to 2013, he became a 13-time MLB All-Star and five-time World Series champion. In 1999, he nabbed that year’s World Series MVP Award. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump in 2019. That same year, he was unanimously inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Riveras have yet to respond to the lawsuit and don’t have a listed attorney.
