Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, have denied allegations made in a bombshell lawsuit that they covered up the sexual abuse of a minor in their Rye, N.Y., home and at a summer camp connected with their church in 2018.
“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 Thursday in a statement. “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 Rivera (l.) and wife Clara (r.) at Yankee Stadium in 2019. Paul J. Bereswill
Mariano Rivera (c.) with his wife Clara (r.) and son Mariano Jr. (l.) Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
The lawsuit, filed last week in State Supreme Court in Westchester, alleges that the plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, was repeatedly sexually abused in the dorm and shower at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Fla., by an older girl.
Though Jane Doe’s mother was said to have been “assured” that Clara would “respond accordingly” to the allegations, the Riveras “each separately isolated and intimated Jane Doe to remain silent about her abuse” when the couple traveled to the camp, the lawsuit alleges.
After Jane Doe returned home and continued to attend services at the Riveras’ New Rochelle church, Refuge of Hope, the same girl accused of sexually abusing Doe allegedly did so again during a barbecue for children at the Riveras’ home in Rye in August 2018; parents weren’t invited.
The Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Fla. Google Maps
Mariano and Clara Rivera. @marianorivera/Instagram
Mariano Rivera (l.) with his wife Clara (r.) in 2019. AP
Doe was also allegedly sexually abused in 2021 and ’22 by Ruben Tavarez Jr., the adult son of Ruben Tavarez Sr., who’s an associate pastor at the church, and Tavarez Jr. “continued to contact her to engage in graphic electronic communications,” according to a post on the website of Horowitz Law, which is representing the plaintiff.
“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 sexual abuse,” Adam Horowitz, one of the lawyers representing Doe, said in a statement provided to The Post on Wednesday.
Rivera, 55, spent his entire 19-year Hall of Fame career with the Yankees, winning five World Series and recording the most saves (652) in MLB history.
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 800-4224453 or text BEGIN to that number.
