Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara Rivera have been accused of covering up child sex abuse at a Christian summer camp affiliated with their church and in their own home.
In a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan. 16, and obtained by PEOPLE, the New York Yankees Hall of Famer, 55, is accused of allegedly ignoring the sexual abuse of a young girl who was a member of his Refuge of Hope Church in Westchester County, N.Y.
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Mariano Rivera and wife Clara — August 2019
The minor, who was born in 2007, is identified as Jane Doe in the complaint, Her alleged abuser — an older female minor — is referred to as “MG.”
The incident allegedly took place at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Fla. during a 2018 summer internship program that is affiliated with the Rivera’s church.
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“Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of Jane Doe, the Riveras each separately isolated and intimidated Jane Doe to remain silent about her abuse by MG to avoid causing trouble for Refuge of Hope and the Ignite Life Summer Internship,” court documents read.
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Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara
Clara, who serves as the Refuge of Hope’s head pastor, according to its website, is also named in the complaint. The documents allege that “The Ignite Summer Internship required children to reside at Ignite Life Center for the duration of the program, without parental supervision.”
The complaint claims that the baseball pro “paid Jane Doe’s expenses” in order to “ensure she could attend the summer program.”
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MG is accused of allegedly abusing Jane Doe again at a summer 2018 BBQ at the Riveras’ Brook View home, per the complaint. The Riveras no longer live at that property.
The complaint also alleges that Jane Doe was sexually abused by Ruben Tavarez Jr., the son of the Refuge of Hope associate pastor Ruben Tavarez Sr., in August 2021.
The complaint alleges that 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 plaintiff is seeking a jury trial.
PEOPLE reached out to a rep for Mariano, as well as Refuge of Hope church for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
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Pitcher Mariano Rivera #42 of the New York Yankees, 2006
Rivera played 19 seasons as the New York Yankees’ closer from 1995-2013. He is a 13-time MLB All-Star and five-time World Series champion and won the 1999 World Series MVP Award. In 2019, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump. He is the only player in baseball history to be unanimously voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Per the church website, Refuge of Hope was founded by Mariano and Clara in their home in 2009. At some point, they expanded and took over the North Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Rochelle, N.Y.
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 www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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