Overview

• Mariano and Clara Rivera have been formally added as defendants in an amended civil lawsuit filed in Westchester County Supreme Court on April 25, 2025.
• The lawsuit alleges repeated sexual abuse of a minor during a 2018 summer internship at Ignite Life Center in Florida and at the Riveras' home.
• Additional claims include a 2021 sexual assault by the son of a Refuge of Hope associate pastor and efforts by the Riveras to intimidate the victim into silence.
• Refuge of Hope, the church founded by the Riveras where Clara Rivera is senior pastor, is also named as a defendant in the case.
• The Riveras deny any wrongdoing, with their attorney calling the allegations false and asserting the couple first learned of the claims in 2022.