A South River youth softball coach will have to register as a sex offender for 15 years after being convicted Friday of abusing one of his teenage players.
Donald Joseph Powell, 47, of Davidsonville, submitted Alford pleas to second-degree assault and a fourth-degree sex offense — a sex crime often levied against a person in a position of authority.
Alford pleas are not an admission of guilt, but rather acknowledge that if the case had gone to trial, there would have been enough evidence to convict. In terms of sentencing, however, it is weighed the same as a guilty plea.
Having engaged counsel in “lengthy” discussions before Friday’s hearing, Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Stacy McCormack upheld an agreed-upon punishment and ordered Powell to serve five years of supervised probation.
During that time, he will be enrolled in the state’s Collaborative Offender Management/Enforced Treatment (COMET) program, an intensive therapeutic and monitoring program established by the Maryland General Assembly in 2006. Powell’s movements will be tracked with a GPS anklet and how he uses his devices will be supervised. He will also have to submit to polygraph tests and complete a psychosexual evaluation.
Powell was also given credit for four days he spent in jail when he was arrested in April. Since posting a $10,000 bond, Powell has been on pre-trial release, according to defense attorney Peter O’Neill.
Investigators first interviewed a 16-year-old girl in January in connection to Powell, according to charging documents.
Assistant State’s Attorney Anastasia Prigge said in August 2023, the teenager started playing for Powell with the South River Athletic Association and took on a leadership role with the team.
At first, her relationship with her coach, who was also known as DJ, was normal, Prigge said. But in November, Powell began messaging the girl outside of games and practices, making sexual comments and giving her gifts, including alcohol, according to charging documents.
Eventually, Powell went to the teenager’s home when her parents were not home. While the softball player was sitting in his truck, Powell kissed her, made lewd comments and touched her, Prigge said.
The girl told investigators she was afraid to decline Powell’s advances, in part because she knew Powell had guns and believed he kept one in his truck, police said.
Prigge said Friday another player reported similar “grooming” behavior from Powell but said she had never been touched.
Powell, who is married with three children, was arrested in April and indicted by a grand jury in May. His wife, who O’Neill described as his client’s “rock,” sat in court Friday behind Powell.
Without naming the businesses, O’Neill said Powell had lost his long-standing assistant manager job as a result of his arrest and with Friday’s conviction was at risk of losing a new position. He said Powell had acknowledged the relationship with his player was inappropriate and as the adult, should have prevented it from happening.
“He understands there’s a heavy price to pay,” O’Neill said.
The defense attorney declined to comment further after Friday’s hearing.
The teenage player attended Friday’s hearing, surrounded by her parents. In a statement read by Prigge, she recalled seeing her mom find out about the investigation. Her “heart dropped,” she said, afraid her parents or Powell were going to be angry with her.
She said her grades began to slip and she was unable to express her “great love” with others.
She has since made friends in a new school, she wrote, and feels comfortable in her new home. She said after Friday’s hearing, she was ready to close this chapter of her life and that Powell’s conviction was the final piece of a puzzle.
McCormack told the teenager, “You are way stronger than you may have given yourself credit for…you’re going to come out stronger.”
