Fri Jan 24 10:40:00 UTC 2025: **Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera and Wife Sued for Alleged Failure to Protect Child Sex Abuse Victim**
NEW YORK – Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, are facing a lawsuit alleging they failed to protect a young girl from repeated sexual abuse. The suit, filed this month, claims the Riveras, who are prominent figures in their New York church, knew of the abuse but failed to act, instead allegedly isolating and intimidating the victim into silence.
The lawsuit, which doesn’t name the victim but identifies her as a girl born in 2007, alleges the abuse began during a 2018 summer camp trip to Florida sponsored by their church, Refuge of Hope. The girl was allegedly repeatedly abused by an older female camper in an unsupervised dorm room. While the mother expressed concerns to Clara Rivera, who then investigated, the suit claims the Riveras chose inaction to avoid scandal.
The abuse allegedly continued at a subsequent church barbecue at the Riveras’ home. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges a separate instance of abuse in 2021 by a male youth leader at Refuge of Hope. The victim’s mother discovered this abuse through electronic communications between her daughter and the youth leader. Police reports were filed in both New York and Florida in 2022, but it remains unclear if criminal charges were pursued.
The lawsuit targets Refuge of Hope Church, not the Riveras directly. Joseph A. Ruta, the Riveras’ attorney, vehemently denies the allegations, stating they only learned of the claims in 2022 and calling them completely false. He emphasized the couple’s charitable work and commitment to children. The Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, where the initial abuse occurred, has also been implicated in other child abuse lawsuits, some of which have resulted in settlements and criminal charges against affiliated individuals. Prosecutors in both states have yet to comment on the allegations.
First Piper 