Brooke Shields' Former Stalker Once Claimed Her Mother Saved His Life
Stalkers and their victims, by definition, don't typically have cordial relationships. But what if the stalker is maintaining a close relationship with their victim's mother? As unusual as the scenario sounds, such was the case for actor Brooke Shields, her mother, Terri Shields, and Brooke's decades-long, convicted stalker, John Rinaldi.
Rinaldi told the Huffington Post that his infatuation with "The Blue Lagoon" actor began in childhood. Alleging to be sexually abused by a neighbor starting when he was 12 years old, Rinaldi said he became an active member of Shields' fan club to distract from the ongoing abuse. Eventually, he disclosed his experience in his letters to Shields.
"Terri Shields came to my rescue," Rinaldi explained, describing how Terri informed Rinaldi's father of the traumatic situation. "She went out of her way to help some broken little kid she had never met. She saved my life." Following Terri's intervention, Rinaldi said he felt like he and the Shields were family friends — but the feeling clearly wasn't mutual.
Brooke Shields spoke out against her mother's actions in court
John Rinaldi was found guilty of stalking in the fourth degree and harassment in the first and second degree by Judge Kevin B. McGrath of the Criminal Court of the City of New York in 2018. Brooke Shields took the stand during Rinaldi's trial, admitting that her mother, Terri Shields, did have a close relationship with her stalker. However, Brooke's testimony clarified that her mother's judgment did not always consider Brooke's best interest or safety.
"She was a woman with dementia and alcoholism," Shields said on the stand, per Page Six. "She gathered people. If you were more broken down, if you were homeless, if you were, whatever, she brought you into the fray. She wanted to be a savior for everyone."
The actor's toxic relationship with her mother was just one of many tragic details of Brooke's life. Terri died in 2012, years before Rinaldi would be convicted of stalking her only daughter. Rinaldi served 28 days of his 60-day sentence at Rikers Island off the coast of New York City, maintaining his belief that the former model and actor's accusations against him were false.
A signature in the dirt was Brooke Shields' line in the sand
John Rinaldi's infatuation with actor and model Brooke Shields might've begun in the late 1980s, but it continued well into the early aughts. While testifying in court, Shields said Rinaldi had sent her countless letters and gifts over the years and would show up unexpectedly at Shields' home and place of work. Rinaldi began offering gifts to Shields' two daughters, including a picture frame that Shields' mother, Terri Shields, had made for the actor on her 18th birthday.
In 2015, two years after the unsettling picture frame encounter, another disconcerting run-in with Rinaldi would be Shields' final straw. According to Page Six, Shields told the judge she noticed what appeared to be her signature written in the dirt in front of her New York City townhouse. After spotting Rinaldi parked in a car in front of her home, Shields called the situation "beyond disturbing and creepy." Rinaldi was arrested one week after Shields filed an official complaint with the 6th Precinct in Greenwich Village.
Rinaldi's defense lawyer, Jonathan Stonbely, claimed his client's actions were "socially inept perhaps, but the one thing that you can't say about Mr. Rinaldi is that his acts are such that they rise to the level of criminality" (via the Daily Mail). This was not the belief of Shields, who told the court that Rinaldi's decades of harassment made her fear for her and her family's safety.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.