ESPN: The Yankees legend’s attorney refutes “wholly untrue” claims of sexual assault cover-up.
Mariano Rivera, a legend of the New York Yankees, and his spouse are facing legal action for allegedly neglecting to protect a little girl who was sexually assaulted by an older youngster while on a church-sponsored summer camp vacation.
In a complaint this month, the girl’s attorneys claim that when the girl’s mother voiced concerns about her daughter’s safety during the 2018 vacation, the Hall of Fame pitcher and his wife, Clara Rivera, a pastor at the Refuge of Hope Church, traveled from New York to Florida to conduct an investigation.
However, the complaint claims that instead of taking action, the pair “isolated and intimidated” the victim into staying “silent about her negative experiences,” including the abuse.
Any claims that the Riveras “knew about or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false,” according to a statement from their lawyer, Joseph A. Ruta.
The claims that Mariano and Clara Rivera were aware of or did nothing in response to concerns of child abuse are wholly untrue, and they do not condone any form of child abuse. They were first made aware of these claims in 2022, almost four years after the claimed assault, when a New York lawyer wrote to ask for a monetary settlement. A second letter asking a monetary settlement was sent in 2023 by a different Florida legal firm.
The Riveras are well-known in New York for their charitable work, particularly their dedication to helping underprivileged children, so it’s unfortunate that they are the target of false accusations. 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 false and misleading statements that we are confident will not hold up in a court of law.
The accuser is not named in the case, but it states that she was born in 2007, making her 10 or 11 years old in 2018.
The complaint claims that Clara Rivera convinced a member of the congregation to let her daughter go to a camp at the Gainesville, Florida-based Ignite Life Center that summer.
The complaint claims that an older female camper sexually assaulted the youngster on many occasions while she was staying in an unguarded dorm room. The youngster said in a 2022 police complaint that during a two-week period, there were 15 incidents of unwanted touching in both her shower and her bunk.
The complaint claims that after the two spoke on the phone, the girl’s mother became concerned about her safety even though she chose not to report the abuse. The lawsuit claims that once the mother expressed her worries to Clara Rivera, she consented to look into them.
In order to “avoid the potential scandal of child sexual abuse in its programs,” the complaint claims that the pair “received information that should have given them concern” during that trip but decided to keep quiet. What the youngster and her mother told the Riveras is not explicitly stated in the lawsuit.
After returning to New York, the girl kept up her active involvement in the church. However, the complaint claims that she was once again mistreated by the same individual during a BBQ for attendees at the Riveras’ Rye, New York, home later that summer.
