High School Basketball Coach Kills Himself After Being Charged With Sexual Assault

A high school basketball coach in Providence, Rhode Island, killed himself on Monday, three days after being accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

On Friday, Tyrone Dale, who coached girls' basketball at Juanita Sanchez High School, was charged with second-degree sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy and released on bail. Dale hanged himself in Pawtucket on Monday evening, Maj. David Lapatin of the Providence police told the Providence Journal. He was 45.

The incident with the teenage boy allegedly took place in May at the West End Recreation Center in Providence. Dale allegedly inappropriately stroked the 15-year-old after pulling down the boy's shorts. According to police reports, the boy recorded the event on his cell phone.

Dale told the Providence Journal in an email Monday afternoon that the incident was a "possible set up" and that he had never coached the boy.

Dale was involved with youth athletics both at the high school and within the community. Last year, he led the girls' basketball team at Juanita Sanchez to the state semi-finals. For 20 years, he coached basketball at the West End Recreation Center, where he was also involved with the football team.

However, this was not his first run-in with the law. In 1992, Dale was accused of molesting boys at a home for troubled youth, the Providence Journal reports. He was ultimately sentenced to probation on a charge of simple assault.