Mariano Rivera, the legendary former New York Yankees pitcher, has been named as a defendant in a sexual abuse lawsuit along with his wife, Clara Rivera. This was revealed in an amended complaint filed by an unnamed girl and her mother on April 25 in Westchester County Court.
The initial lawsuit, which emerged earlier this year, claims that an older individual killed a young girl during a church event that Clara co-founded. It’s noteworthy that Clara was identified as a senior pastor at this church located in Westchester County.
Interestingly, Rivera wasn’t listed as a defendant in the original filing; instead, other entities were named. The legal documents also pointed out that the addresses of some former Rivera homes, sold in 2022, are linked to a Limited Liability Company involved in the case.
In previous filings, there were serious allegations suggesting that Clara failed to adequately protect the young girl, referred to as Jane Doe, from abuse that allegedly occurred around 2018 at a barbecue attended by children from the church. The lawsuit mentions that the children’s parents weren’t invited to this gathering, which raises eyebrows.
Further details from the amended lawsuit echo the original claims. It indicates that the girl was allegedly isolated and pressured to stay silent about her experiences. It’s alleged that rather than intervening to stop the abuse, Rivera assured his mother about the girl’s safety at the Ignite Life Center, despite the claims of vulnerability.
Joseph A. Luta, representing Clara, has challenged the allegations stating they are “completely false.”
The plaintiffs are pursuing a trial and seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Mariano Rivera, at 55, boasts an impressive record, having secured five World Series championships and being a 13-time MLB All-Star, famously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
