Rhett Hintze was the COO at Bravo Group, a lobbying and marketing firm. He was also a stake president for several LDS churches in Pennsylvania, including where Shawn Gooden was a church leader. He has been charged with knowing about Gooden’s assaults and not reporting them. His church position makes him a mandatory reporter, obligated to report abuse. The LDS church, after similar cases in other states, has taken the position that church leaders are prohibited from reporting. Their position is that “everything that President Hintze did was fully approved by the church.”
According to the police, both Gooden and one of his victims disclosed the sexual assault to Hintze in 2020, two years before Gooden was arrested. This means for two years he did not report the assault despite being a mandated reporter.
- ABC 27: Harrisburg lobbyist, LDS church leader charged with not reporting child rape allegations
- Lebanon Daily News: New Cumberland man charged with failure to report child abuse
- Pennsylvania State Police: Public Information Release Report Rhett Hintze
