Former Yankee Mariano Rivera and wife sued for failing to protect a girl from sexual abuse at a church camp

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Mariano Rivera and wife by is licensed under YouTube
RYE, NY - A lawsuit has been filed against New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife, accusing them of failing to protect a young girl who was allegedly sexually abused by an older child during a summer camp sponsored by their church.

According to the Associated Press (AP), the lawsuit was filed earlier in the month and in it lawyers for the young girl allege that Rivera and his wife Clara Rivera, a pastor at the Refuge of Hope Church, flew from New York to Florida to investigate after the girl's mother expressed concerns about her daughter's safety during a 2018 trip.

The lawsuit alleges that instead of taking action and helping, the couple "isolated and intimidated" the victim into remaining "silent about her negative experiences," including the abuse.

In a statement, Joseph A. Ruta, the attorney for the Riveras, said that any allegations that they "knew about or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false," adding that the couple only learned of the allegations in 2022 after receiving a letter from an attorney requesting a financial settlement.

Ruta said, "The Riveras are known throughout New York for their charitable work and especially for their commitment to serving underprivileged children. It's unfortunate they are being targeted by false allegations." The lawsuit does not name the accuser, but says she was born in 2007, which would have made her 10 or 11 years old in 2018, when the alleged incident happened.

The complaint states that during the summer of 2018, Clara Rivera persuaded a congregant to allow her daughter to attend a camp at the Ignite Life Center, a church in Gainesville, Florida. The lawsuit states that while staying in an unsupervised dorm room, the girl was repeatedly sexually abused by an older female camper.

In a police report filed in 2022, the girl said there were 15 instances of inappropriate touching over a two-week period, both in her bunk and a shower. The girl did not report the abuse at the time, but her mother grew worried about her safety after the two spoke on the phone. The mother then outlined her concerns to Clara Rivera, who agreed to investigate, as alleged in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says that during the trip down, the couple "received information that should have given them concern," but chose to remain silent to "avoid the potential scandal of child sexual abuse in its programs." The suit does not specifically state what the Riveras were told by the girl or her mother.

The complaint states that the girl later returned to New York and continued her active participation in the church, but that later that summer during a barbecue for congregants at the Riveras' home in Rye, New York, she was again abused by the same person. Adam Horowitz, the attorney who filed the lawsuit said, "They failed to mitigate the risks and upon learning that she had been a victim, took no steps to protect her or get criminal justice."

He added, "They continued to expose her again to the same risk at her home." The lawsuit states that in 2021, the girl was again sexually assaulted, this time by a male youth leader at Refuge of Hope. The abuse was discovered by the girl's mother, who found months of electronic communications between the two.

After that, the girl and her mother filed police reports in New York and Florida regarding the abuse in 2018 and 2021. Horowitz said he didn't believe that criminal charges were brought in any of the cases. The lawsuit was filed against the Refuge of Hope church, not against the Riveras themselves. 

The Ignite Life Center recently settled lawsuits brought by three people, also represented by Horowitz, who said they were abused as teenagers by a volunteer at the church. Two others affiliated with the church have been charged with lewd and lascivious battery against minors.
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