Current And Former Members Of Pittsburgh Penguins Organization Named In Sexual Assault Lawsuit
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A former assistant hockey coach for the Penguins' minor league team and his wife have filed a sexual assault lawsuit against the organization.
The lawsuit names a former coach and team owner Mario Lemieux, among others. It details an alleged sexual assault by then-head coach of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins Clark Donatelli.
Jarrod Skalde, who was an assistant coach with the team at the time, claims Donatelli sexually abused his wife during a team road trip in 2018. The suit also claims Pens organization management told Jarrod Skalde to keep quiet and called the accusation made by his wife a lie.
The couple also alleges that current Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin, then-GM for the Wilkes-Barre Scranton league and assistant GM for the Pittsburgh Penguins, asked Jarrod Skalde to keep the reason for coach Donatelli's termination quiet.
Jarrod Skalde also claims the team later punished him for reporting his wife's assault and terminated his position under the guise of pandemic-related staff cuts.
The Penguins organization released this statement on Tuesday, saying:
"We took this Wilkes-Barre/Scranton incident very seriously and acted immediately.
"The team investigated and addressed the alleged incident within hours of being notified in June 2019, despite the fact that Mr. Skalde delayed seven months before he reported the incident.
"Immediately upon receiving the report, a full investigation was conducted within 72 hours, and the former coach resigned from the organization.
"Following the report, Mr. Skalde continued to coach in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for an additional year, until we made significant staff reductions due to the Covid-19 pandemic."
Donatelli's attorney declined to comment on Tuesday. Guerin is also denying the allegations, and the Wild released a statement saying they fully support him.
A judge on Sept. 30 denied the Penguins' motion for arbitration instead of a Jury trial.