In a new lawsuit filed in New York, Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara are being accused of covering up the sexual abuse of a minor. The abuse allegedly took place at their home and at a Christian summer camp.
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After Rivera’s MLB career, he became the lead pastor at the Refuge of Hope church in New Rochelle, New York. According to The Independent, though, the Rivera’s were recently accused “of being negligent in their supervision and allegedly failing to act upon learning that a young girl from their church was being sexually abused.”
The legal complaint was filed in the Supreme Court of Westchester County. The minor, a girl identified as Jane Doe, was allegedly sexually abused by another older girl. The older girl, identified as “MG”, was apparently also a minor.
The victim claims that the assault occurred during a summer internship in 2018 at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, a church affiliated with Rivera’s. The Independent reports that the victim and her family were members of Refuge of Hope in New York.
“Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of Jane Doe (the victim), the Riveras each separately isolated and intimidated Jane Doe to remain silent about her abuse by MG (the suspect) to avoid causing trouble for Refuge of Hope and the Ignite Life Summer Internship,” the lawsuit claimed.
Rivera’s wife, Clara, is also heavily involved in the “day-to-day” operations within the church. The complaint claims that Clara “allegedly convinced the girl’s mother to allow her to attend internship.”
Minor Claims She Was Abused By Another Refuge of Hope Member
The complaint also alleged a second incident of abuse by the same older girl. The minor claims the incident occurred at the Rivera’s home in Rye, New York during the summer of 2018.
The same minor alleged that she was sexually abused by another member of Refuge of Hope church, Ruben Tavarez Jr., who is the adult son of associate pastor Ruben Tavarez Sr.
The complaint states that the Rivera’s “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.”
Apparently this is not the first instance of sexual abuse within the Ignite Life Center community. Three people within the church have been previously arrested for child sex crimes. One of these arrests includes Christian Vargas, the son of the church’s head pastor. In 2023, Authorities charged Vargas with sexual battery of a minor.