Theodore Rinaldo

Theodore Anthony Rinaldo (March 11, 1944 – February 13, 2000 ) was an American charismatic religious leader, businessman, and convicted child sex offender. During the 1970s, Rinaldo and his associates formed and operated a non-profit corporation, Ellogos, and several profit-making businesses based in Snohomish, Washington, including Eden Farms, Cascadian Publishing, Golden Gallery, and Ted Anthony & Associates, among others.

In 1979, Rinaldo was arrested on seven charges, including felony counts of statutory rape, indecent liberties, and intimidating a witness. Later that year, he was convicted of third-degree statutory rape for having sexual intercourse with one minor girl and of taking indecent liberties with another.

Early life and education Rinaldo was born in 1944 in Oneida, New York into a Catholic family. He attended Oneida High School (class of 1963), but being a borderline juvenile delinquent, never earned a high school diploma. After some friends were killed in an automobile accident, he resolved to study to become a priest. However, he also explored a number of other churches, and ended up becoming the "black sheep in a Catholic family."

He attended a Bible college in New York state, but dropped out after about a year. After leaving Oneida, he worked at a variety of odd jobs, never spending more than a year in one place.

Rinaldo began holding religious meetings in a Bellevue home. Followers reported that he told them they were a group of special people who were actually sons of God. With his guidance, they were to lead the world to a better life, attracting other people through the simple goodness of their nature. They referred to their association simply as "The Group". A woman estimated that over 5.5 years she had contributed around $10,000, despite the fact that she had a low income and was in fact unemployed for 20 months during that period. As a result of these interviews, Larson reported the following facts:

Ten people reported that Rinaldo was the leader of a secretive religious organization called simply "The Group". Five youths reported that they had lived and worked at Eden farm for little or no pay, were strictly controlled and had little freedom. Immediately following his arrest, his business and religious activities were the subject of a six article series by investigative reporter Gary Larson of the Everett Herald, running from July 13 through July 19.

During his trial, prosecutors alleged that Ellogos was a secret religious organization dominated by Rinaldo by means of fear and isolation. During the first four days of testimony, five women testified that Rinaldo had touched them indecently or had sexual intercourse with them when they were young teenagers. Rinaldo's wife, Anne Sundberg Rinaldo, Rinaldo also testified in his own defense. Several defense witnesses, all members of Ellogos, testified that based on the opinions of six Snohomish businessmen, three of Rinaldo's accusers had "bad" reputations for telling the truth. However, the State called the businessmen as witnesses, and each of them testified that they had never formed or expressed opinions on the truthfulness of the prosecution witnesses.

On December 3, 1979, Rinaldo was convicted of third-degree statutory rape for having sexual intercourse with one minor girl and of taking indecent liberties with another.

Appeals The conviction was the subject of several notable appeals. In March 1983, The Everett Herald lost an appellate court case in the State of Washington in which it sought to quash a subpoena allowing a judicial review of confidential material gathered for articles it had published in 1979 on the cult activities of Rinaldo, who had since been convicted on charges of rape, indecent liberties, and assault. The New York Times reported that the court had ruled that "criminal defendants could force reporters to reveal confidential sources if the information was crucial to the case" and characterized the loss as "a major defeat for the news media". The Herald took the Appeals Court decision to the Washington Supreme Court while upholding the Court of Appeals ruling in general.

Personal life and death Rinaldo married Anne Sundberg. They had one son. is a fictionalized account of his coming to terms with this traumatic past.