Yankees Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara RiveraThey have been accused of covering up child sexual abuse in their homes and in their churches
The charges were leveled against Mariano, 55, and Clara in a lawsuit filed in New York on Thursday, January 16.
Complaint, filed and received in the Supreme Court of Westchester County our weeklyThe Riveras are accused of covering up the abuse of a young girl associated with their church, Refuge of Hope in New Rochelle, New York.
Mariano is the head priest of the church while Clara is in charge of its day-to-day operations. They are accused of negligence after discovering that the young girl (known as "Jane Doe") had been abused by an older minor (known as "MG") and allegedly did not act upon the discovery.
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The alleged abuse occurred during a 2018 summer internship at Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, a program supported by Refuge of Hope Church. Clara allegedly encouraged the plaintiff to participate in the internship, who suggested it to her mother. Plaintiff's mother became concerned about her daughter's safety at the camp after a phone call from plaintiff, which she raised with Clara, who assured Jane Doe's mother that she would investigate further, according to the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, the Riveras traveled from New York to a summer camp in Florida where they "learned or should have learned" about the sexual assault.
The complaint reads: "Instead of taking adequate steps to end the sexual abuse of Jane Doe (the victim), Riveras isolated and intimidated Jane Doe into keeping quiet about her abuse by MG (the suspect) to avoid causing trouble for the refugee. OFF Hope and Ignite Life Summer Internship.
According to the lawsuit, the alleged abuse continued at a barbecue at the couple's former home in Rye, N.Y., after Jane Doe returned from summer camp. The lawsuit claims the couple invited children from the church to a barbecue where Jane Doe was unsupervised with MG, despite alleged earlier incidents at a Florida summer camp. The children's parents, including Jane Doe's mother, were allegedly not invited to the barbecue.
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The complaint claims that Riveras did not take appropriate action and decided to deal with them internally "to avoid investigation, public scandal and potential financial loss from child sexual abuse allegations that became public information."
Ruben Tavarez Jr., Adult Son Associate Pastor of Refuge of Hope Ruben Tavarez SrIn August 2021, the girl was also accused in the molestation case.
Baseball star Mariano is best known for playing 19 seasons as a closer for the New York Yankees. During his tenure from 1995 to 2013, he became a 13-time MLB All-Star and a five-time World Series champion. In 1999, he earned 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.
Riveras has not yet responded to the lawsuit and does not have an attorney listed.
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