New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara broke their silence Thursday after they were named in a lawsuit and accused of covering up the child sexual abuse of a minor at their home and at a camp. summer related to your church.
Joseph A. Ruta, their attorney, said in a statement that they first learned of the allegations in 2022, four years after the alleged incident occurred. The alleged victim’s attorney at the time requested a financial settlement.
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Mariano Rivera and his wife faced surprising accusations. (IMAGE)
“Mariano and Clara Rivera do not tolerate child abuse of any kind and accusations that they knew about or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false,” the statement read, via the New York Post. “They first learned of these allegations almost 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 another law firm. of Florida, again requesting a financial agreement.
“The lawsuit, which seeks financial damages for the Riveras’ alleged failure to act on alleged incidents that were never reported to them, is filled with inaccurate and misleading statements that we have no doubt would not hold up in a court of law.”
In the lawsuit, a woman identified as “Jane Doe” said she was sexually abused by an older girl known as “MG” during a summer internship in 2018. MG was a minor at the time of the alleged incidents. The internship took place at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, which was affiliated with Rivera’s church.
The lawsuit said the alleged victim’s mother informed Clara of the abuse and that Clara promised to investigate the matter. However, they allegedly covered it up.
Former New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera salutes on Veteran’s Day before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium in New York City on September 9, 2023. (Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports)
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“Instead of taking sufficient action to end Jane Doe’s sexual abuse, the Riveras each separately isolated and intimidated Jane Doe into remaining silent about her abuse by MG to avoid causing problems for Refuge of Hope and the Ignite Life summer internship,” the lawsuit says. read.
The lawsuit also alleges that MG abused the victim at the Rivera residence in Rye, New York, that summer during a barbecue.
“At all relevant times, [the Riveras] “I knew or should have known that MG posed a risk of sexually abusing children…before and during the time of the barbecue,” the lawsuit reads.
“To avoid the possible scandal of child sexual abuse in its programs and to otherwise protect [themselves] Above all, the Riveras… assured [Doe’s mother] that [Doe] “was safe and not in danger at Ignite Life Center, despite actual or constructive knowledge that Doe remained vulnerable to additional acts of sexual abuse by MG.”
Several months later, in January 2019, Rivera became the first and only player unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Later that year, President Donald Trump, during his first presidency, awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Mariano Rivera waves to the crowd from the mound after breaking the saves record in the game against the Minnesota Twins on Monday, September 19, 2011 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. The Yankees defeated the Twins 6-4 and Rivera recorded the 602nd save of his career. (Rob Tringali/MLB via Getty Images)
Widely known as the greatest closer in baseball history, Rivera is the sport’s all-time saves leader with 652. His 2.21 ERA is also the lowest of any pitcher with at least 500 innings since the era began. of live ball in 1920.
