Mariano Rivera and Wife Covered Up Sex Abuse of Child, Lawsuit Claims

Mariano Rivera, the Hall of Fame pitcher for the New York Yankees, has been accused in a lawsuit of concealing repeated sexual assaults of a minor.

Mr. Rivera, a Yankees closer for 17 seasons, and his wife, Clara, “isolated and intimidated” a young girl into staying silent about her abuse to avoid causing trouble for a New Rochelle, N.Y., church, Refuge of Hope, which they helped found, the lawsuit said.

A lawsuit against the church was filed in Westchester by the girl and her mother, who are not identified in court records in order to protect their privacy.

According to a civil complaint filed on Wednesday that details the accusations, the girl was an active member of Refuge of Hope, part of the broader Assemblies of God religion and organization.

Adam Horowitz, the lawyer for the girl and her mother, said that the Riveras had failed to keep a child safe.

It was not immediately clear who was representing the Riveras and their church.

In 2018, Ms. Rivera, a pastor at the church, told the mother that the girl should participate in a summer internship run through Ignite Life Center, another Assemblies of God church, the complaint said.

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