Mariano Rivera Lawsuit Still Pending
WESTCHESTER, NY - The child sexual abuse coverup lawsuit against the lead pastors of Refuge of Hope (ROH) Church, Mariano and Clara Rivera, is still pending. The lawsuit states they traveled to affiliated church Ignite Life Center (ILC) in Gainesville, Florida, and intimidated a child sexual abuse victim not to report abuse by an older minor identified as MG, and then covered up more sexual abuse against her at their former estate by an ROH pastor’s son, Ruben Tavarez Jr.
According to a court document filed on December 23, 2025, one or more attorneys representing the plaintiff will conduct a site inspection of ROH on February 17. The document states the plaintiff and the Riveras will have pretrial examinations (EBT) this month as well. Horowitz Law Firm attorney Jessica Arbour, representing the plaintiff, told GnvInfo that ROH will be deposed through a corporate representative to testify on behalf of the Church.
The Riveras have denied covering up child sexual abuse.
The lawsuit regards counts of negligent supervision and premises liability.
Harrison Police Department Report:
One of the dockets on the Rivera lawsuit case file shows a police report from the Harrison Police Department (Harrison is located in Westchester County, where the lawsuit is filed).
The plaintiff's mother completed a sworn statement that says in August 2018, ILC extended a summer program at ILC to New Rochelle, where ROH is located. She said that during this time, her daughter was attending a pool party at Clara Rivera's house and she was sexually assaulted when left unsupervised.
Ruta Voices Media-Related Concerns:
In August 2025, Ruta wrote a message to Judge Damaris E. Torrent stating, “I am submitting this letter requesting a virtual Court conference regarding certain representations to the media by plaintiff’s counsel.”
Summary of Riveras’ Defense:
Court records indicate a summary of what the Riveras plan to use as a defense.
- “No knowledge of dangerous condition.”
- “No duty to protect under the circumstances, and additionally, no duty to protect against alleged third-party criminal acts.”
- “Alleged abuse did not occur on Rivera’s premises.”
- “Supervision was appropriate under the circumstances.”
Connection to ILC Lawsuit:
Mariano Rivera has a longtime friendship with Mark Vega, ILC’s head pastor, who was arrested in November 2025 on a warrant for failing to report suspected child abuse.
Mark Vega and his wife Lisa Vega attended Mariano Rivera's birthday party in November 2024, as they can be seen sitting on opposing sides of the table on the above post.
On July 23, 2025, Horowitz Law Firm, the same firm handling the Rivera suit, filed a negligence lawsuit against ILC in Orange County, Florida.
The lawsuit took additional action against the Orlando-based Florida Multicultural District (FMD) of the Assemblies of God (AG), which is why the suit is filed in Orange County. During a meditation conference in September 2025, the plaintiff came to an agreement with FMD but not ILC. Court documents show that about two weeks ago, the plaintiff accepted a settlement proposal from ILC but the lawsuit currently remains pending.
The Orange County complaint states:
“Plaintiff and her family regularly attended church in New York State, where they became familiar with [ILC]. [ILC's] Head Pastor, Mark Vega, was a frequent guest pastor at the New York church, Refuge of Hope Church, which was operated by his close friends and colleagues, former New York Yankee Mariano Rivera and his wife, Pastor Clara Rivera. While at the New York church, Vega also [extolled] the virtues of the [ILC] programs for children, including the Ignite Summer Internship, a summer camp program for minor children operated at [ILC] by Defendants...
[ILC] and Refuge of Hope had a longstanding business relationship and/or enterprise in which children from the New York church were sent to the Ignite Summer Internship as a means of generating income for Defendants. Because of Vega's frequent visits to the New York church, Plaintiff wanted to attend the Ignite Summer Internship. Because of representations by Vega and the Riveras about the ‘blessing' that it would be for Plaintiff, as well as Defendant’s assurances about the young child's safety while she attended the program, Plaintiffs parents allowed her to attend the July 2018 Summer Internship."
The Mariano Rivera lawsuit in-part accuses him and his wife of traveling to ILC and intimidating a young girl to not report sexual abuse by an older girl identified as MG.
The Orange County lawsuit accuses ILC and FMD of neglecting the Plaintiff, allowing her to be repeatedly sexually abused by a girl identified as MG.
The Orange County lawsuit states that the defendants represented to the plaintiff that “responsible, well-trained adults associated with Defendants were employed to supervise and care for the children participating in the Ignite Summer Internship, including in the dormitories while children slept.”
The lawsuit ties FMD into the neglect as well, stating agents of FMD were on site during the Ignite Summer Internship.
The Orange County complaint contains substantially similar allegations that corroborate the Rivera suit, stating:
"During the course of one phone call that Plaintiff was allowed to make to her mother during the 2018 Summer Internship, Mother PA Doe learned information that made her concerned about her child's safety. She reported these concerns to Clara Rivera, who assured Mother PA Doe that she would work with Defendants to investigate [her] concerns. Shortly thereafter, Clara and Mariano Rivera traveled to [ILC] and spent the day with the children participating in the Ignite Summer Internship. During the Riveras' trip, Defendants allowed the Riveras to have unsupervised access to Plaintiff, where the Riveras each learned information that should have given them concern that Jane PA Doe was being sexually abused by MG.
Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of Jane PA Doe, the Defendants allowed the Riveras to isolate and intimidate [her] to remain silent about her negative experiences at the summer internship, including her abuse by MG, to avoid causing trouble for Defendants and Refuge of Hope. This conduct was ratified by Defendants in order to avoid the potential scandal of child sexual abuse in their programs and otherwise protect Defendants above all else. Defendants assured Mother PA Doe that Jane PA Doe was safe and in no danger at [ILC], despite actual or constructive knowledge that [she] was being sexually abused by MG and remained vulnerable to additional acts of sexual abuse by MG [with] constructive knowledge that its dormitories were not safe for Plaintiff.”
Editor's Notes: The Orange County lawsuit regarded in this article should not be confused with the other two pending Orange County lawsuits against ILC that also relate to child sexual abuse, one of which was filed July 1, 2025, also by Horowitz Law Firm, while another was filed by Bagen Law Firm in February 2025.
