Mariano Rivera, the Hall of Fame Yankees closer, and his wife Clara are defendants in a civil lawsuit in Westchester County, New York, alleging they failed to protect a minor girl from sexual abuse connected to their church and then pressured her into silence. The Mariano Rivera lawsuit was filed in January 2025, was amended in April 2025 to add the couple as named defendants, and remained active in early 2026 with depositions and a church site inspection scheduled for February 2026.1ESPN. Mariano Rivera, Wife Added as Defendants in Sexual Abuse Suit
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The plaintiff, identified as “Jane Doe” and born in 2007, sued together with her mother. The complaint brings two primary causes of action, negligent supervision and premises liability, and seeks unspecified damages.2The Journal News (lohud.com). Mariano Rivera, Wife Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Tied to New Rochelle Church Refuge of Hope The girl was a member of the Riveras’ congregation at Refugio de Esperanza, a Pentecostal church in New Rochelle also known as Refuge of Hope, where Clara Rivera serves as senior pastor.
The suit was originally filed against the church and 1 Brook View Rye, LLC, the entity that owns the Riveras’ home in Rye, New York. Mariano and Clara Rivera were added as named defendants in an amended complaint on April 30, 2025, after an investigation determined they were not connected to the LLC first named in the case.1ESPN. Mariano Rivera, Wife Added as Defendants in Sexual Abuse Suit
The Three Alleged Incidents
The complaint describes abuse across three settings between 2018 and 2021, all involving the same victim.
Summer 2018: Florida Camp
When the plaintiff was about 11, she attended a summer internship program at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida. The lawsuit says Clara Rivera suggested the program and the church paid the girl’s expenses. According to the complaint, an older female camper identified in court filings only as “MG” repeatedly sexually abused her in a dormitory and a shower at the camp.3CBS News New York. Mariano Rivera Lawsuit, Church Camp Child Sex Abuse Claims
After the girl’s mother raised safety concerns, the lawsuit alleges, the Riveras traveled to Florida and separately “isolated and intimidated” the girl into staying quiet, motivated by a desire to avoid scrutiny, scandal, and financial losses to the church and the camp program.4CBS Sports. Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera, Wife Deny Covering Up Child Sexual Assault at Multiple Church Events
Summer 2018: Barbecue in Rye
Later that same summer, the Riveras hosted a church barbecue at their Rye home. The complaint says the plaintiff was left unsupervised with MG and was assaulted again.5Patch. Yankee Legend Mariano Rivera, Wife Concealed Child Sex Abuse: Lawsuit The LLC that owns the property was named partly because New York law can hold landowners responsible for events on their premises.6USA Today. Mariano Rivera, Wife Clara Lawsuit Court records include a Harrison Police Department report about an August 2018 incident at Clara Rivera’s house in which the plaintiff was allegedly sexually assaulted.7GNV Info. Mariano Rivera Lawsuit Remains Pending, Horowitz Law to Conduct Site Inspection of Refuge of Hope Church
Late 2021: At the Church
In late 2021, the complaint says, the plaintiff was sexually assaulted by Ruben Tavarez Jr., identified as the adult son of an associate pastor at Refuge of Hope.8ABC News 4. NY Yankees Legend Mariano Rivera, Wife Deny Covering Up Alleged Child Sex Abuse The lawsuit alleges Tavarez forced her into sexually explicit electronic communications until her mother discovered the messages, and that Tavarez then admitted to his actions.9Fox 5 NY. Mariano Rivera, Wife Accused of Cover Up of Sexual Assault
How the Riveras Have Responded
The Riveras have not been charged with any crime. Their attorney, Joseph A. Ruta, called the allegations “completely false” in January 2025, said the couple “do not tolerate child abuse of any kind,” and described the complaint as containing “inaccurate and misleading statements which we have no doubt will not hold up in a court of law.”10Yahoo Sports. Mariano Rivera, Wife Clara Accused in Lawsuit of Covering Up Child Sex Abuse Claim
Ruta said the Riveras first heard of the allegations in 2022, when a New York attorney sent a letter requesting a financial settlement, followed by a second demand letter from a Florida firm in 2023. He characterized the lawsuit as seeking “financial damages for the Riveras’ alleged failure to act on alleged incidents that were never reported to them.”10Yahoo Sports. Mariano Rivera, Wife Clara Accused in Lawsuit of Covering Up Child Sex Abuse Claim
In court filings, the defense has raised four main arguments: that the Riveras had no knowledge of any dangerous condition, that they owed no legal duty to protect against third-party criminal acts, that the alleged abuse did not occur on their premises, and that supervision was appropriate under the circumstances.7GNV Info. Mariano Rivera Lawsuit Remains Pending, Horowitz Law to Conduct Site Inspection of Refuge of Hope Church
Where the Case Stands
As of early 2026, the case remained active before Judge Damaris E. Torrent in Westchester County Supreme Court. A December 2025 filing scheduled pretrial depositions of the plaintiff and of both Riveras for February 2026, along with a deposition of the church through a corporate representative. The plaintiff’s attorneys, Horowitz Law, also scheduled a site inspection of the Refuge of Hope building for February 17, 2026.7GNV Info. Mariano Rivera Lawsuit Remains Pending, Horowitz Law to Conduct Site Inspection of Refuge of Hope Church
No motions to dismiss, trial dates, or settlement discussions have been publicly reported in the New York case.
The Related Florida Case Has Settled
The Florida camp at the center of the 2018 allegations was the subject of a separate lawsuit, not the New York action against the Riveras. On July 23, 2025, Horowitz Law filed a negligence suit against the Ignite Life Center and the Florida Multicultural District of the Assemblies of God in Orange County Circuit Court, alleging inadequate supervision at the same dormitories where the plaintiff stayed.11GNV Info. Ignite Life Center and Assemblies of God District Office Hit With Fifth Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed by Horowitz Law The Florida Multicultural District settled through mediation in September 2025, the Ignite Life Center submitted a settlement proposal in January 2026 that the plaintiff accepted, and the Florida lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed on February 24, 2026.12GNV Info. Ignite Life Center Negligence Lawsuit Settled That resolution does not end the separate case against the Riveras and their church in New York.