Former legendary pitcher of the New York Yankees, Mariano Rivera, and his wife, Clara, have been named defendants in a civil sexual assault lawsuit after their church was connected to the allegations, per ESPN.

The lawsuit comes from a girl and mother who allege that the girl was sexually abused by an older child at events that “connect” to the Riveras' church in Westchester County, New York.

It was initially filed in January 2025 in the Westchester County Supreme Court. Initially, it did not feature the Riveras as named defendants, instead naming Refuge of Hope, the church they founded. However, it did accuse them of “failing to protect the girl.” They are not being charged with any criminal wrongdoing, though.

Clara Rivera is a senior pastor at Refuge of Hope. The lawsuit also named a limited liability company that reportedly included the Riveras' former home address before they sold the property in 2022.

The girl's attorney, Adam Horowitz, said the Riveras were added as named defendants “after it was determined they were not connected with the LLC.” He added that the lawsuit “largely remains the same” despite the recent change with the Riveras being named defendants.

Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife's response to the sexual abuse lawsuit and allegations

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In January 2025, Rivera and his wife responded to the allegations. The initial court documents said, “Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of Jane Doe, the Riveras each separately isolated and intimidated Jane Doe to remain silent about her abuse by MG to avoid causing trouble for Refuge of Hope and the Ignite Life Summer Internship.”

The Riveras responded, claiming they do not tolerate any kind of child abuse. They also alleged that they had not heard about the allegations until four years after they occurred.

“The very first time they heard about these allegations was nearly four years after the alleged incident when, in 2022, a New York attorney sent a letter requesting a financial settlement,” the Riveras’ attorney said. “This was followed by a second letter in 2023 from a different Florida law firm, again requesting a financial settlement.

“The lawsuit, which seeks financial damages for the Riveras’ alleged failure to act on alleged incidents that were never reported to them, is full of inaccurate and misleading statements which we have no doubt will not hold up in a court of law,” they continued.