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.
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