Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Clark Donatelli was indicted on four counts of second-degree sexual assault, the Rhode Island Attorney General's office announced on Tuesday.
Donatelli was indicted by a grand jury in July, and he pleaded not guilty at the arraignment on Nov. 10. He was released on $10,000 bail.
Donatelli was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim, described by the attorney general's office as a 46-year-old woman.
The office said that the alleged incident took place in Providence on Nov. 1, 2018.
Former Wilkes-Barre assistant coach Jarrod Skalde filed a federal lawsuit against the Penguins last November, alleging that Donatelli sexually assaulted Skalde's wife Erin in November 2018 and that Skalde was fired for reporting the incident to the team, violating state whistleblower laws. Erin Skalde was expected to file a civil suit in Rhode Island state court earlier this month against the Penguins organization, Donatelli, Bill Guerin, Mario Lemieux, and Ron Burkle, but the Penguins reached an out-of-court settlement with the Skaldes on Nov. 9. The federal lawsuit was dropped, and the lawsuit in Rhode Island was never filed.
"In November 2020, Jarrod and Erin Skalde filed a lawsuit against the Penguins and the former Wilkes-Barre coach," the Penguins said in a statement on Nov. 9. "The Penguins and Skaldes have agreed to resolve all claims. Through this resolution, the Penguins hope to bring closure to the Skaldes, provide some measure of peace, and continue to encourage and promote a culture of openness, accountability, and respect at all levels of professional sports."
After Skalde reported the alleged incident to management in June 2019, the Penguins announced later that month that Donatelli had resigned due to "personal reasons."
Donatelli went on to coach the Krefeld Pinguine in the German DEL in the 2020-21 season, and was fired from the position in September, four games into the 2021-22 season.
