Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera, wife, accused in lawsuit of covering up sexual abuse of girl at their church's camp
Former New York Yankee Mariano Rivera speaks to the crowd as he stands with his wife, Clara, next to his Hall of Fame plaque during a ceremony in his honor before a game on Aug. 17, 2019. Credit: Getty Images/Jim McIsaac
A lawsuit filed this month accuses Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, of concealing a young girl's sexual abuse at a church-affiliated camp in Florida and at one of their properties in Rye.
The suit, filed under pseudonyms at State Supreme Court in Westchester County by the girl and her mother, claims the Riveras and their affiliated church failed to protect the girl from abuse or adequately investigate once the allegations were brought to light.
The Riveras denied the allegations in a statement Wednesday from their attorney Joseph A. Ruta.
“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,” Ruta said.
The church and the church's attorney could not be immediately reached for comment.
The couple is not accused of abusing the girl, who is identified in the lawsuit as "JANE A DOE." One of the two alleged abusers is also a minor. The abuse is alleged to have occurred at facilities connected with the Refuge of Hope Church, Refugio de Esperanza in Spanish. Rivera is a pastor at the church.
"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 ... to avoid causing trouble for REFUGIO and the Ignite Life Summer Internship," the lawsuit says.
The alleged abusers were reported to the police, although neither was criminally charged, said Adam Horowitz of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, one of the lawyers who filed the suit.
The suit says the Riveras hosted a barbecue for campers at one of their homes in Rye and at that event, the plaintiff was left unsupervised with one of the alleged abusers, despite the couple knowing of past abuse by the alleged abuser.
The alleged abusers were an older teen in the same dorm as the minor plaintiff, then 10 years old, and a separate abuser who, a year or two later, allegedly sexually assaulted the girl and forced her "to engage in graphic electronic communications of a sexual nature for several months."
Horowitz said he tried to negotiate a settlement before filing the lawsuit but the defendants wouldn’t agree to pay what the plaintiffs asked.
Mariano Rivera was a unanimous inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
LI man admitted killing domestic partner ... 7 charged in money laundering scheme ... Track star can run ... Suffolk CPS investigation
LI man admitted killing domestic partner ... 7 charged in money laundering scheme ... Track star can run ... Suffolk CPS investigation
