Former Sarah Heinz House of Pittsburgh program director charged with child molestation – WPXI

PITTSBURGH — The former program director of the Sarah Heinz House of Pittsburgh faces felony charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a child he was babysitting at a Pittsburgh-area home.

Police have arrested and charged Nicholas Gindele, 25, with child endangerment, deviant sex, indecent assault and sexual assault.

The Pittsburgh parents couldn’t contain their emotions when they found out about the case.

“It’s a real shame!” said Shirley Pitman.

“Oh my God! I have a 6-year-old daughter,” Diseree Ellis said.

According to the criminal complaint, police received a tip from Childline about the incident in May.

During an interview at Children’s Hospital in June, the little boy told investigators he had been “abused by Nick”, his babysitter.

The child’s mother had hired Gindele through a personal care website.

The child told investigators that Gindele licked and touched him inappropriately.

“Oh my God! You can’t trust anyone these days…especially not in Pittsburgh. There’s a lot of kids in that area,” Ellis said.

Gindele was hired by the Sarah Heinz House as program director in 2021.

The organization offers more than 100 after-school and summer programs for children.

In a public Facebook video posted on the official Heinz House Camp page in March, Gindele announced that he had been named the boys’ resident camp director.

He expressed his enthusiasm and said he had worked at more than two dozen other camps over the years.

Channel 11 visited Sarah Heinz’s home to get answers about Gindele and the charges against him.

A worker there declined to comment.

Sarah Heinz House attorney Joseph F. Butcher eventually released the following statement:

“The safety and protection of the young people we serve are always our absolute highest priorities, and we take any situation that could impact their well-being very seriously. Sarah Heinz House is aware of the arrest of a former staff member accused of allegations of inappropriate behavior towards a minor. After learning this information from the authorities, our organization acted quickly to terminate this individual, who is now barred from all Club programs and facilities. We will continue to offer our full cooperation to the authorities if necessary.

“While the circumstances leading to this arrest did not occur on Club premises or involve Club members, we are deeply saddened by this very serious matter as the crimes of abuse go to the against everything our organization stands for – no harm should be done to a child under any circumstances.” circumstance.

“Sarah Heinz House is committed to the highest standards of ethical behavior and integrity and does not tolerate inappropriate or unlawful behavior by any staff member, volunteer or young person. of the club. All employees and volunteers must undergo a full criminal background check prior to hire and annually, and all supervision policies are designed to ensure the maximum safety and protection of Club members and staff.

“As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to comment further. Sarah Heinz House’s commitment to the young people of our club, their families and our community is unwavering.

Gindele is now due to appear before a judge for his preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

He remains locked up in the Allegheny County Jail after his bail was denied.

A judge deemed him a “community safety risk”.

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