New York Yankees legend and wife deny role in alleged child sex abuse cover-up

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The New York Yankees legend at the centre of a bombshell lawsuit alleging that he and his wife covered up the repeated sexual abuse of a minor fired back on Thursday, saying the claims are “completely false.”

Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, made a statement through their lawyer on Thursday denying the allegations made in a civil lawsuit that they covered up the sexual abuse of a minor at their home and at a summer camp connected with their church 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.

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“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.”

Plaintiffs “Jane A Doe” and “Mother A Doe” filed a civil lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Westchester County in New York last week, according to court documents obtained by Page Six,

Rivera, a baseball hall of famer and arguably the greatest relief pitcher of all-time, became the lead pastor of the Refuge of Hope Church in New Rochelle, N.Y., after his retirement. Clara reportedly is in charge of the church’s day-to-day operations.

According to the complaint, Clara allegedly convinced Mother Doe to allow her daughter to travel to Gainesville, Fla., to participate in a summer internship in 2018 with the Ignite Life Center, which was supported by Refuge of Hope.

Jane Doe alleges that while there, an older minor girl — whom she identifies as “MG” — sexually abused her “repeatedly” in the dorm and shower “by fondling and penetrating (her) breasts, buttocks and genitals against (her) will.”

Per the filing, Jane called her mother and told her what allegedly had happened, which prompted Mother Doe to inform Clara.

The Riveras allegedly travelled to see Jane at the summer camp and “learned or should have learned information that (she) was being sexually abused by MG.”

The filing alleged that the Riveras attempted to intimidate the younger girl to stay quiet about the alleged abuse.

“Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of Jane A Doe, the Riveras each separately isolated and intimated (her) to remain silent about her abuse by MG to avoid causing trouble for (Refuge of Hope) and the Ignite Life Summer Internship,” the claim states.

Per the complaint, after the internship ended and both Doe and MG returned to New York – where they continued to attend church services, the Riveras allegedly hosted a barbecue at their former home “only for the minor children who attended” the summer camp, as “parents, including but not limited to Mother A Doe, were not invited.”

“During the barbecue, MG once again sexually abused the minor Jane A Doe,” the filing states, going on to allege that the Riveras “should have known that MG had a propensity to sexually abuse Jane A Doe prior to the barbecue, yet they took no action to protect Jane A Doe from her.”

Jane also alleges in the suit that she was sexually abused in 2021 by an adult male youth leader who also was the son of a Refuge of Hope associate pastor.