Yankees great Mariano Rivera, wife deny covering up sexual abuse of 10-year-old church member
New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, have been accused in a lawsuit of covering up the sexual abuse of a minor in their home and at a 2018 summer camp affiliated with an Assemblies of God church they founded in 2009 known as the Refugio De Esperanza (the Refuge of Hope).
A complaint filed in the Supreme Court of New York in Westchester County a week ago does not name the plaintiffs — the victim and her mother — but lists them as Jane A Doe and Mother A Doe, respectively.
Noted as defendants are the church and 1 Brook Rye, LLC, a New York limited liability company in Westchester, listed as the owner of the couple's nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion at 1 Brook View Lane in Rye, New York.
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Some of the abuse suffered by Jane A Doe, who was born in 2007, is alleged to have taken place at the mansion during a youth barbecue.
Refuge of Hope did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Christian Post on Thursday. But the Riveras denied the allegations in a statement from their attorney to The New York Post.
"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," said attorney Joseph A. Ruta. "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," Ruta added.
Rivera played 19 seasons with the Yankees and is the only player unanimously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is the MLB's all-time leader in saves. The Riveras are not listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of covering up the sexual abuse of Jane A Doe by multiple people connected with the church, including, youth leader Ruben Tavarez, the adult son of an associate pastor.
In 2018, the lawsuit alleges that Clara Rivera allegedly recommended to Mother A Doe that Jane A Doe attend a summer internship at the Ignite Life Center named the Ignite Summer Internship in Gainesville, Florida. Also affiliated with the Assemblies of God, The Ignite Life Center settled three lawsuits last month with three plaintiffs alleging the church covered up sexual abuse.
The plaintiffs claim Clara Rivera paid for Jane A Doe to attend the program, and she was "assigned to a dormitory with other children, including MG, a much older camper who also attended REFUGIO." It is alleged that Jane A Doe, who was about 10 years old in 2018, was repeatedly sexually assaulted by MG.
"Throughout the duration of the summer camp, MG repeatedly sexually abused JANE A DOE in the camp's dormitory and shower by fondling and penetrating JANE A DOE's breasts, buttocks and genitals against JANE A DOE's will," the lawsuit says.
During the camp, the victim was allegedly only allowed to call her parents "sporadically," and during one of those calls, the victim's mother learned information that made her concerned about her daughter's safety.
Mother A Doe said she then reached out to Clara Rivera, who the lawsuit says assured her that she would "investigate MOTHER A DOE's report and respond accordingly." Instead of investigating the matter and responding "accordingly," the lawsuit accuses the Riveras of intimating the victim into silence.
"Ms. Rivera and her husband, REFUGIO employee/volunteer/agent Mariano Rivera, then traveled from New York to Florida to see JANE A DOE at the Ignite Life Summer Internship. During that trip, the Riveras, in their capacity as agents for DEFENDANTS, learned or should have learned information that JANE A DOE was being sexually abused by MG," the lawsuit alleges.
"Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of JANE A DOE, the Riveras each separately isolated and intimated JANE A DOE to remain silent about her abuse by MG to avoid causing trouble for REFUGIO and the Ignite Life Summer Internship," it adds.
The lawsuit alleges the couple assured the victim's mother that her daughter was safe at the Ignite Life Center "despite actual or constructive knowledge" that the girl "remained vulnerable to additional acts of sexual abuse." Both Jane A Doe and MG returned to worship in New York at Refugio at the end of the summer camp.
The complaint also alleges that the Riveras hosted a barbecue for children at their mansion in Rye later that summer in August 2018, and Jane A Doe was allegedly left unsupervised with MG, who "once again sexually abused the minor JANE A DOE by engaging in acts that would constitute a sexual offense under Article 130 of the New York Penal Law."
"Upon information and belief, DEFENDANTS' failure to take corrective action in response to the 2018 allegations at the Ignite Summer Internship was consistent with an established and ongoing modus operandi by DEFENDANTS to handle allegations of sexual abuse internally so to avoid scrutiny, public scandal, and potential financial losses from allegations of child sexual abuse becoming public information," attorneys for the plaintiffs allege.
The lawsuit also accuses Tavarez, an adult male youth leader, of grooming and then sexually abusing Jane A Doe in August 2021.
"The grooming and 'red flag behaviors' occurred while the two attended REFUGIO events and/or on premises owned, operated, and/or controlled by REFUGIO. Among other things, TAVAREZ openly and obviously showed inappropriate physical affection toward JANE A DOE in plain view of employees, volunteers, and agents of REFUGIO," the lawsuit states.
"In approximately late 2021 or early 2022, TAVEREZ sexually abused JANE A DOE by engaging her in acts that would constitute a sexual offense under Article 130 of the New York Penal Law at a REFUGIO event, while TAVAREZ was working as a REFUGIO youth leader responsible for the safety and security of JANE A DOE, and on premises owned, operated and/or controlled by REFUGIO."
Tavarez also allegedly continued to send the victim sexually graphic electronic communication for several months after he first sexually abused her until her mother confronted him.
"At that time, TAVAREZ admitted to his sexual misconduct with JANE A DOE," states the lawsuit. "At all relevant times, TAVEREZ was an employee, volunteer, and/or agent of REFUGIO who knew and gained access to JANE A DOE by and through his role with REFUGIO."
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