New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara remained silent Thursday after being named in a lawsuit and accused of covering up sexual abuse of minors at their home and at a summer camp affiliated with their church. broke.
Their attorney, Joseph A. Ruta, said in a statement that they first heard about the allegations in 2022, four years after the incident allegedly occurred. Lawyers for the alleged victims at the time requested a financial settlement.
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Mariano Rivera and his wife faced shocking allegations. (Imagination)
“Mariano and Clara Rivera do not condone child abuse of any kind, and claims that they knew of or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false,” the New York Post said in a statement. There is,” he said. “The first time they heard about these allegations was in 2022, almost four years after the incident, when New York state attorneys sent a letter seeking a financial settlement. This was followed by Florida in 2023. A second letter arrived from another law firm in the state, again requesting a financial settlement.
“This lawsuit, which seeks economic damages for the Riveras' failure to respond to unreported incidents, is full of inaccurate and misleading statements and will certainly not stand up in court.”
In the lawsuit, the woman identified as “Jane Doe” said she was sexually assaulted by an older girl known as “MG” during her 2018 summer internship. MG was a minor at the time of the incident. The internship took place at Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, which was affiliated with Rivera's church.
According to the complaint, the alleged victim's mother informed Clara of the abuse, and Clara promised to look into the matter. However, they allegedly covered it up.
Former New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera waves on Old Timers Day before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 9, 2023 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. (Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports)
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“Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of Jane Doe, the Riveras individually isolated Jane Doe, threatened her to remain silent about the abuse by MG, and committed the “Made Hope and the Ignite Life Summer Internship undisturbed,'' the complaint states. read.
The complaint also alleges that MG abused the victim during a barbecue at the Rivera residence in Rye, New York, that summer.
“At all times before, during and after the barbecue, (the Riveras) knew or should have known that MG posed a risk of sexually abusing the children,” the suit says.
“To avoid a potential scandal of child sexual abuse in that program, and to protect (themselves) above all else, the Riveras… “Also, the constructive knowledge that Doe was still vulnerable to further acts of sexual abuse by MG.'' ”
A few months later, in January 2019, Rivera became the first and currently only player to be unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Later that year, President Donald Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his first term as president.
Mariano Rivera waves to the crowd from the mound after setting a career save record against the Minnesota Twins on Monday, September 19, 2011 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, Manhattan, New York. The Yankees defeated the Twins 6-4, and Rivera made his 602nd save of his career. (Rob Tringali/MLB via Getty Images)
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Rivera is widely regarded as the best closer in baseball history, and is baseball's all-time save leader with 652 saves. His 2.21 ERA is also the lowest of any pitcher with at least 500 innings pitched since the live-ball era began in 1920.
FOX News' Ryan Mollick contributed to this report.
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