Beloved Yankees legend accused of covering up minor’s sexual abuse

New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, have been named in a lawsuit that alleges they covered up the sexual abuse of a minor — at a summer camp and their home.

In a lawsuit filed on Jan. 16 in the Supreme Court of Westchester County and obtained by the Gainesville Public Information Services (GnvInfo) and the Independent, the Riveras have been 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.” They’ve also been sued for “premises liability” at their church and former home, according to GnvInfo.

Rivera, who pitched for the Yankees from 1995-2013 and recorded 652 saves while a fan favorite, is a pastor at Refuge of Hope Church in New Rochelle, New York, according to the Independent. Clara oversees the day-to-day operations, and according to both outlets, citing the complaint, she persuaded the young girl’s mom to send her daughter to the summer camp that was tied to the Riveras’ church.

Via the Independent:

According to the filing in the civil case, the plaintiff – known as “Jane Doe” – claims she was sexually abused by an older minor girl – anonymised as “MG” during a summer internship in 2018 at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, which was supported by Rivera’s church.

The abuse allegedly continued at a barbeque hosted at the couple’s former Brook View property in Rye, New York, in August 2018 before it was sold in June 2022 according to the complaint.

The Riveras, Life Center and Ignite Life Center have not responded to the Independent’s request for comment.

According to the lawsuit, after the alleged victim’s mother became concerned for her daughter’s well-being after one phone call, she relayed her concerns to Clara Rivera, who promised to investigate the matter. The Riveras traveled to Florida for the summer camp, where they “learned or should have learned” information about the alleged sexual abuse, the lawsuit states.

“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 Riveras lied to the minor’s mother, according to Gainesville Public Information Services, citing the lawsuit.

The girl returned to Refuge of Hope after the internship, the Independent wrote, before the alleged abuse continued at Riveras’ former home during a barbecue that included the church’s children but no parents, according to Gainesville Public Information Services. The Riveras left the minor with “MG” during the event, according to the lawsuit.

Via Gainesville Public Information Services:

“Upon information and belief, [the] defendants’ failure to take corrective action in response to the 2018 allegations at the Ignite Summer Internship was consistent with an established and ongoing modus operandi by [the] defendants’ to handle allegations of sexual abuse internally so to avoid scrutiny, public scandal, and potential financial losses from allegations of child sexual abuse becoming public information.”