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Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Shock twist as Yankees icon and wife are entangled in child sexual abuse lawsuit
New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara have been added as named defendants in a bombshell child sexual abuse lawsuit that was first filed four months ago. Back in January, Mariano and Clara were accused in the lawsuit of covering up child sexual abuse that occurred both at their home and a summer camp linked to their church, which was filed by a girl and her mother in State Supreme Court in Westchester County, New York. The lawsuit, which alleges the plaintiff was abused by an older child at events connected to the church in Westchester County where the Riveras both serve as pastors, did not originally list them as defendants despite accusing them of failing to protect her. Yet on Wednesday, Adam Horowitz, an attorney for the girl, said they have now been added in an amended court filing, according to ESPN. It has been determined that Mariano, a baseball Hall of Famer, and Clara are not connected with Refuge of Hope - the church and limited liability company founded by the Riveras that was initially named in the suit. The LLC is also believed to have included their former home address, which they sold back in 2022. Rivera pitched for the Yankees from 1995 to 2013 and captured five World Series titles Despite being added as named defendants, Mariano and Clare have not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing. Joseph A. Ruta, an attorney for the Riveras, previously described allegations that they failed to act on reports of child abuse as 'completely false'. Ruta added that they learned of the accusations in 2022 after receiving a letter from an attorney demanding a financial settlement. The original suit claimed the plaintiff, identified only as 'Jane Doe', was convinced by Clara to go to Gainesville, Florida for a summer internship that the Ignite Life Center, which was affiliated with Refuge of Hope, was hosting. While there Doe was allegedly abused by an older female camper, who was a minor at the time. It's alleged Doe was repeatedly abused in the camp's dormitory and showers, with the older girl 'fondling and penetrating' her breasts, buttocks and genitals. The lawsuit claims that when Doe's mother was informed about the alleged abuse, she contacted Clara - who is a senior pastor at the church - to tell her she was 'concerned' for her daughter's safety. The mother was supposedly 'assured' by Clara that she would investigate when her and Mariano, a Baseball Hall of Famer, attended the camp themselves. However, when they arrived, it's claimed both Mariano and Clara 'each separately isolated' Doe and 'intimidated her to remain silent' to 'avoid causing trouble' for the church and summer camp. When the camp and internship had concluded, Doe claims she returned to New York and kept attending Refuge of Hope services. However, according to the complaint, an alleged separate incident of abuse by the same older girl, took place in August 2018 at a barbecue that was hosted by the Riveras at their then $4million Rye, New York home. Parents were not invited. The older girl was allegedly invited and 'once again sexually abused' Doe. It's claimed she 'engaged in acts that would constitute a sexual offense under Article 130 of the New York Penal Law', according to the filing. Years later, in 2021, Doe was then allegedly sexually abused by the adult son of an associate pastor, who was working as a youth leader for the Refuge of Hope. 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,' the lawsuit stated. Rivera, 55, pitched for the Yankees from 1995 to 2013 and won five World Series titles in The Bronx. He is regarded as one of the greatest-ever closers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
National Post
01-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Mariano Rivera added to lawsuit alleging sexual abuse linked to his church
Former New York Yankees star Mariano Rivera and his wife were added to a lawsuit alleging that after a young girl who belonged to a church they founded was sexually assaulted, they sought to keep her story quiet and failed to protect her from further assaults. Article content The lawsuit was first filed in January against the Riveras' church, Refuge of Hope (a.k.a. Refugio de Esperanza), plus a limited liability company associated with a home owned by the Riveras where one of the assaults was alleged to have taken place. An amended complaint, filed Friday in Westchester County, New York, replaced the LLC with the longtime closer and his wife, Clara, as named defendants. Article content The amended filing was otherwise similar to the original one, plaintiff's attorney Adam Horowitz told ESPN. The complaint alleges that the girl, said to have been born in 2007 and identified by a pseudonym in the filing, attended services at Refuge of Hope. A website for the church says it was founded in 2009 at the Riveras' home before its growth led to the acquisition of a former Presbyterian church in New Rochelle, New York. Clara Rivera is listed as its senior pastor. Article content An attorney reported to be representing the Riveras, Joseph A. Ruta, did not immediately respond Wednesday evening to a request for comment. In January, Ruta told the Associated Press that the Riveras were being 'targeted by false allegations.' Article content According to the lawsuit, Clara Rivera recommended to the girl's mother in or around 2018 that the girl attend a summer internship at Ignite Life Center, a church located in Gainesville, Florida. Refuge of Hope was said to have paid for the expenses associated with the internship, which had a provision that children in the program reside at Ignite Life Center without parental supervision. While there, per the lawsuit, the girl was sexually abused by another female internship attendee, then also a minor, who was described as 'a much older camper' who also attended Refuge of Hope. When a phone call from the girl to her mother led the latter to be concerned for her daughter's safety, per the lawsuit, the mother contacted Clara Rivera, who promised to investigate. Clara and Mariano Rivera were said to have traveled from New York to Florida to see the girl at Ignite Life Center. Article content According to the lawsuit, the Riveras then 'each separately isolated and intimidated [the girl] to remain silent about her negative experiences at the summer internship, including her abuse … to avoid causing trouble' for their church and for the Ignite Life internship. Article content When the summer camp ended, with the girl's mother allegedly having been assured by the Riveras that her daughter was in no danger, the girl and the older camper were said to have returned to New York to attend Refuge of Hope. Later in the summer of 2018, a barbecue was held by the church at a property then owned by the Riveras in Rye, New York. The event was said to have been provided for children from the church, with at least some of their parents not invited. Article content The older camper again abused the girl at the barbecue, per the lawsuit, engaging in acts that would 'constitute a sexual offense' under New York's penal code. The Riveras 'failed to inform [the girl's] parents of the risk of harm' the host couple knew or should have known was posed at the barbecue by the older camper, the complaint stated. Article content The girl was also sexually abused in 2021, according to the lawsuit, by an adult male who served as a youth leader at Refuge of Hope. He was said to have subsequently forced her to 'engage in graphic electronic communications of a sexual nature for several months' before the girl's mother learned of it and confronted him. Others associated with the church knew or should have known, per the lawsuit, that the man 'had a propensity to engage in sexual misconduct with children he encountered by virtue of his leadership role … yet they took no action' to protect the girl.
Edmonton Journal
01-05-2025
- Edmonton Journal
Mariano Rivera added to lawsuit alleging sexual abuse linked to his church
Article content The amended filing was otherwise similar to the original one, plaintiff's attorney Adam Horowitz told ESPN. The complaint alleges that the girl, said to have been born in 2007 and identified by a pseudonym in the filing, attended services at Refuge of Hope. A website for the church says it was founded in 2009 at the Riveras' home before its growth led to the acquisition of a former Presbyterian church in New Rochelle, New York. Clara Rivera is listed as its senior pastor. An attorney reported to be representing the Riveras, Joseph A. Ruta, did not immediately respond Wednesday evening to a request for comment. In January, Ruta told the Associated Press that the Riveras were being 'targeted by false allegations.' According to the lawsuit, Clara Rivera recommended to the girl's mother in or around 2018 that the girl attend a summer internship at Ignite Life Center, a church located in Gainesville, Florida. Refuge of Hope was said to have paid for the expenses associated with the internship, which had a provision that children in the program reside at Ignite Life Center without parental supervision. While there, per the lawsuit, the girl was sexually abused by another female internship attendee, then also a minor, who was described as 'a much older camper' who also attended Refuge of Hope. When a phone call from the girl to her mother led the latter to be concerned for her daughter's safety, per the lawsuit, the mother contacted Clara Rivera, who promised to investigate. Clara and Mariano Rivera were said to have traveled from New York to Florida to see the girl at Ignite Life Center.
USA Today
01-05-2025
- USA Today
Mariano Rivera, wife Clara added as defendants in amended sexual abuse lawsuit
Mariano Rivera, wife Clara added as defendants in amended sexual abuse lawsuit New York Yankees Hall of Famer reliever Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara Rivera, have been added to a lawsuit as defendants, which alleges a girl was sexually assaulted at events connected to a church affiliated with the couple. In the previous filing in January, the complaint listed Refugio de Esperanza (Refuge of Hope), a church in New Rochelle, New York, and 1 Brook View Rye, LLC, as defendants. The new complaint, filed in Westchester County Court on April 25 and obtained by USA TODAY Sports, added Rivera and his wife, Clara, who is the senior pastor at the church. The teenage girl, born in 2007 and listed as Jane Doe in the complaint, alleges one of the assaults happened at the Riveras' home in Rye, New York during a barbecue in "approximately summer 2018." An attorney for the girl told ESPN that the Riveras were added as defendants after it was determined they were not connected with the LLC at the address of their former home, which they sold in 2022. According to the lawsuit, the barbecue was for "minor children" who attended the church and parents were not invited to attend. The details in the amended suit are not different from what was alleged in the original filing, that the Riveras ignored her claims of sexual abuse and the Riveras 'isolated and intimidated' the girl to keep quiet about an alleged assault. Jane Doe was also allegedly sexually abused in August 2021 by Ruben Tavarez Jr., the son of the Refuge of Hope associate pastor. The Riveras' lawyer, Joseph A. Ruta, has called the allegations "completely false." '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," the lawsuit states, "to avoid causing trouble for REFUGIO and the Ignite Life Summer Internship. In order to avoid the potential scandal of child sexual abuse in its programs and otherwise protect DEFENDANTS above all else, the Riveras, in their capacities as agents and/or employees of DEFENDANTS, assured MOTHER A DOE that JANE A DOE was safe and in no danger at Ignite Life Center, despite actual or constructive knowledge that JANE A DOE remained vulnerable to additional acts of sexual abuse.' The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial, plus compensatory and punitive damages, saying she has "suffered, and will continue to suffer, physical, psychological and emotional injuries, mental anguish and the loss of enjoyment of life" as a result of the abuse. The 55-year-old Rivera won five World Series championships with the Yankees and retired in 2013 as MLB's all-time saves leader. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019, the only player in history to be elected unanimously.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB Star Mariano Rivera and Wife Clara Added as Defendants in Child Sex Abuse Suit
Mariano and Clara Rivera have now been named as defendants in an amended court filing accusing them of covering up child sex abuse The amended court filing comes months after the MLB star and his wife were alleged to have ignored the sexual abuse of a young girl who was a member of their Refuge of Hope Church in Westchester County, N.Y. An attorney for the Riveras previously said in a statement that "allegations that they knew about or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false" Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara Rivera have been added as defendants in a January civil lawsuit accusing them of covering up child sex abuse. As previously reported, the 55-year-old New York Yankees Hall of Famer and Clara were named in a lawsuit filed earlier this year in New York Supreme Court, and were alleged to have ignored the sexual abuse of a young girl who was a member of his Refuge of Hope Church in Westchester County, N.Y. At the time, the Riveras' attorney, Joseph A. Ruta, told the New York Post in a statement that "allegations that they knew about or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false." Now, the Riveras have been added as defendants in an amended court filing, the girl's attorney, Adam Horowitz, initially told ESPN. Horowitz said details in the filing have remained largely the same. PEOPLE has since obtained the amended document, which was filed on April 25 and lists both Mariano and Clara as defendants — along with Refuge of Hope, which was previously named as a defendant along with an LLC that included the couple's former home address. As Horowitz told ESPN, the couple was later named as defendants after it was determined they were not connected with the LLC, which is now no longer named as a defendant. An attorney for the Riveras did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Thursday, May 1. Related: What to Know About Mariano Rivera's Life Since the Yankees amid Accusations He Covered Up Child Sex Abuse The filing alleged that a minor born in 2007, identified as Jane Doe, was sexually abused by an older female minor (identified as "MG") at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Fla. during a 2018 summer internship program affiliated with the Rivera's church. The updated complaint claimed that the Riveras "separately isolated and intimidated Jane Doe to remain silent about her negative experiences at the summer internship, including her abuse by MG, to avoid causing trouble for Refuge of Hope and the Ignite Life Summer Internship." Per Refuge of Hope's website, Clara served as its head pastor. According to the complaint, the internship program "required children to reside at Ignite Life Center for the duration of the program, without parental supervision," and the church 'paid Jane Doe's expenses' in order to 'ensure she could attend the summer program.' The complaint alleges that, during a summer 2018 BBQ at the Riveras' Brook View home, MG again abused Jane Doe. It also alleges that Jane Doe was sexually abused by Ruben Tavarez Jr., the son of the Refuge of Hope associate pastor, in August 2021. Related: MLB Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, Wife Clara Accused of Covering Up Child Sex Abuse The Riveras allegedly '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," per the complaint. Similar to the previous version of the complaint, the plaintiff is still seeking a jury trial. '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,' the Riveras' attorney previously said in his New York Post statement. '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.' Related: Mariano Rivera and Wife Clara Break Silence on Allegations They Covered Up Child Sex Abuse at Their Church In a statement to PEOPLE back in January, Horowitz — who is representing the plaintiff — said that "parents and churchgoers should be grateful, as I am, that this brave child is coming forward to expose wrongdoers." "Reporting sex crimes is always tough, especially when those who conceal them are powerful and popular," Horowitz said. "We are prepared to litigate this serious matter in Court." The Refuge of Hope church was founded in the Riveras' home in 2009, when the baseball star was still a member of the New York Yankees. Following his 2013 retirement, he purchased a 107-year-old church in New Rochelle, New York. After renovations, the couple moved the operations there in 2014. If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
