New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara have denied covering up sexual abuse of a minor in their home and at a summer camp that was linked to the church they attended in 2018.
“Mariano and Clara Rivera do not tolerate child abuse of any kind and allegations that they knew about or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false,” Joseph A. Ruta, the Riveras‘ attorney, said Thursday in a statement.
“The very first time they heard about these allegations was nearly four years after the alleged incident, when in 2022 a New York attorney sent a letter requesting a financial settlement. This was followed by a second letter in 2023, from a different Florida law firm, again requesting a financial settlement.
“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 inaccurate and misleading statements which we have no doubt will not hold up in a court of law.”
A serious allegation
The lawsuit was filed last week with the State Supreme Court in Westchester. It alleges that the plaintiff who has not been named but is referred to as Jane Doe was repeatedly sexually abused in the dorm and shower at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, by an older girl.
The Riveras “each separately isolated and intimated Jane Doe to remain silent about her abuse,” the lawsuit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, the same girl allegedly assaulted the girl at the Rivera‘s home in Rye.
“Our lawsuit alleges that Mariano and Clara Rivera had a duty to protect our client and missed the opportunity to save her from the harms of sexual abuse,” Adam Horowitz of Horowitz Law, one of the lawyers representing the victim,” said in a statement provided to The Post on Wednesday.
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