Former leading figure in Irish basketball faces sex assault charges in US

A US basketball player, who was a leading force in the game in Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s both as a coach and player, has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl he was coaching in his native South Carolina.

Anthony Jenkins, who enjoyed long stints with both Blue Demons in Cork and Notre Dame in Dublin, has been charged in the US with one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

The alleged victim started getting lessons from Anthony Jenkins in 2007 when she was 14. Local media said she had told detectives in Spartanburg County that the abuse started shortly after the coaching began and continued in different locations, including his home, until 2012 when she turned 18.

Local sheriff Chuck Wright told the media after the 6ft 7in 50-year-old was arrested that there could be more victims, and he encouraged them to come forward.

Following a court appearance, Mr Jenkins has been released from jail on a $50,000 (€38,000) bond with a number of conditions, including that he have no contact with the alleged victim’s family; any contact with children under the age of 16 without their parent or guardian; or contact anyone under 16 using social media. He was also ordered to surrender his passport and not leave the state without the court’s permission.

Anthony Jenkins first came to Ireland in 1987 to play for the Blue Demons Club in Cork. He won a National Top Four Championship in his first year playing alongside fellow legendary American Jasper McIlroy.

After stint with other clubs around the country including North Mon, he returned to the Demons in 1992 winning the Roy Curtis international.

The three-pointer specialist moved to Dublin’s Notre Dame club in 1994. At that stage they were a Division Two club, but with his influence as a player and coach they were transformed, winning four consecutive National Cups.

He played with them until 2004. He then ended his 17 years in Ireland and returned to America to establish himself as a private coach, training students from around the world.