REPORT: Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera And His Wife Named In Disturbing Sexual Assault Lawsuit Involving Minor
Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, have been named in a disturbing lawsuit.
The couple has been accused of covering up the sexual abuse of a minor at their former home in Rye, New York, and at a summer camp hosted by their church.
The suit, the details of which have been obtained by the New York Post, was filed last week and alleges that the Yankees icon did not do anything after finding out that a young girl from their Refuge of Hope church was sexually abused.
“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,” one of the victim’s attorneys, Adam Horowitz, told the outlet in a statement.
The complainant, referred to as Jane Doe, is said to have attended a summer internship at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, after Clara recommended it and was abused by an older girl, who was herself a minor at the time.
Jane Doe claims she was fondled and penetrated by the older girl in the camp’s dorm and shower and accuses the Riveras of asking her to keep quiet about it to save face for the churches involved.
The NY Post notes:
“Mariano and Clara Rivera later traveled down to the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville after Jane Doe’s mother expressed “she was concerned for Jane A Doe’s safety at the summer camp,” the suit states.
“The mother was said to have been “assured” that Clara would look into her concerns and “respond accordingly.”
“However, the suit claims, that when the Riveras made the trip, where they “learned or should have learned information” about the sexual abuse taking place, they “each separately isolated and intimated Jane Doe to remain silent about her abuse” in order to “avoid causing trouble” for both church organizations.
“The suit states the girl returned to New York after the conclusion of the internship and continued to attend services at Refuge of Hope.”
Another Incident Allegedly Took Place At A Former Residence Of Mariano Rivera
Another incident is said to have occurred at a house Mariano and Clara Rivera used to live in Rye, NY, during a barbeque for children attending the Refuge of Hope church.
Jane Doe was allegedly sexually abused by the same older girl, who was “engaging in acts that would constitute a sexual offense under Article 130 of the New York Penal Law,” per the suit.
It’s understood that no parents were in attendance.
A post on Horowitz Law claims that the girl was sexually abused by the adult son of an associate pastor at the church, noting that Ruben Tavarez Jr. allegedly abused Jane Doe from late 2021 into 2022 and “continued to contact her to engage in graphic electronic communications.”
The suit states that the Riveras “falsely promoted their activities and premises as being safe, moral, and otherwise free of a risk of harm when it knew or should have known otherwise.”
