Brooke Shields and her husband have testified against her alleged stalker.
The 51-year-old actress has taken action against John Renaldi – who she claims has been following her for over 30 years and has now turned his attention to her two children Rowan, 13, and Grier, 10 – and both Brooke and her husband Chris Henchy were in Manhattan Criminal Court this week to testify against him.
Speaking to Judge Kevin McGrath at the hearing, the mother-of-two said: "I’ve been dealing with this for quite a long time, but when you bring my kids into it, all bets are off. My children don’t need any stuffed animals."
Renaldi, 49, who lived seven streets away from Brooke’s West Village home, has not only gifted her children with stuffed animals, but has previously waited outside her residence with a fake signature of hers scrawled on his windscreen.
The ‘Pretty Baby’ star explained her ongoing battle with him, explaining: "It was a copy of my signature and I said, ‘This is beyond disturbing and creepy.’"
Brooke’s husband Chris also testified and became emotional as he described his failed attempts to get the man to back off.
He said: "I’m not always home. I don’t want my wife walking out the door have to look left and right for safety, with our kids.
"I told him that Brooke likes her privacy and going up to her makes her nervous, especially when she has our kids with her."
According to the New York Daily News, Chris also said it was "really was upsetting" when Rinaldi sent an email which mentioned Rebecca Schaffer, an actress murdered by a stalker in 1989.
He said: "For him to make that analogy was really disturbing."
Renaldi is currently facing charges of harassment and stalking after he sent Brooke copious amounts of letters, bombarded her with tweets and continuously visited her home for two years.
However, his lawyer believes his clients actions are out of character but they are not harmful and do not "rise to the level of criminality."
He said: "[John’s] actions in this case, [are] 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 under any circumstance."
Brooke Shields and husband testify against her alleged stalker
