New York
AP
 — 

New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his spouse are accused in a lawsuit of failing to guard a younger lady who was sexually abused by an older little one throughout a summer season camp journey sponsored by their church.

In a lawsuit filed this month, legal professionals for the lady allege that the Corridor of Fame pitcher and his spouse Clara Rivera, a pastor on the Refuge of Hope Church, flew from New York to Florida to research after the lady’s mom expressed issues about her daughter’s security throughout the 2018 journey.

However slightly than take motion, the couple “remoted and intimidated” the sufferer into remaining “silent about her detrimental experiences,” together with the abuse, the lawsuit says.

Joseph A. Ruta, an legal professional for the Riveras, mentioned in a press release that any allegations that they “knew about or didn’t act on stories of kid abuse are utterly false.” He mentioned the couple solely discovered of the allegations in 2022 after receiving a letter from an legal professional requesting a monetary settlement.

“The Riveras are recognized all through New York for his or her charitable work and particularly for his or her dedication to serving underprivileged kids,” Ruta mentioned. “It’s unlucky they’re being focused by false allegations.”

The lawsuit doesn’t identify the accuser, however it says she was born in 2007, which might have made her 10 or 11 years previous in 2018.

That summer season, in accordance with the criticism, Clara Rivera persuaded a congregant to permit her daughter to attend a camp on the Ignite Life Middle, a church in Gainesville, Florida.

Whereas staying in an unsupervised dorm room, the lady was repeatedly sexually abused by an older feminine camper, in accordance with the go well with. In a police report filed in 2022, the lady mentioned there have been 15 cases of inappropriate touching over a two-week interval, each in her bunk and a bathe.

Although the lady didn’t report the abuse, her mom grew frightened about her security after the 2 spoke on the telephone name, the criticism states. The mom then outlined her issues to Clara Rivera, who agreed to research, in accordance with the go well with.

Throughout that journey, the couple “obtained data that ought to have given them concern,” the lawsuit says, however selected as an alternative to stay silent to “keep away from the potential scandal of kid sexual abuse in its applications.” The go well with doesn’t particularly state what the Riveras have been advised by the lady or her mom.

The lady later returned to New York and continued her lively participation within the church. However later that summer season, throughout a barbecue for congregants on the Riveras’ residence in Rye, New York, she was once more abused by the identical particular person, the criticism states.

“They didn’t mitigate the dangers, and upon studying that she had been a sufferer, took no steps to guard her or get prison justice,” the legal professional who filed the lawsuit, Adam Horowitz, advised The Related Press by telephone. “They continued to show her once more to the identical threat at her residence.”

In 2021, the lady was once more sexually assaulted, this time by a male youth chief at Refuge of Hope, in accordance with the lawsuit. The abuse in that case was found by the lady’s mom, who discovered months of digital communications between the 2, the lawsuit contends.

Afterward, the lady and her mom filed police stories in New York and Florida concerning the abuse in 2018 and 2021. Horowitz mentioned he didn’t consider that prison expenses have been introduced in any of the circumstances. The lawsuit was filed towards the Refuge of Hope church, not towards the Riveras themselves.

Prosecutors in New York and Florida didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark about whether or not they appeared into the allegations.

A lawyer for Ignite Life Middle didn’t reply to an inquiry. The church not too long ago settled lawsuits introduced by three individuals — additionally represented by Horowitz — who mentioned they have been abused as youngsters by a volunteer at Ignite Life Middle. Two others affiliated with the church have been charged with lewd and lascivious battery towards minors.