Courier Journal Silence and Secrets project overview video
The four-part Silence & Secrets project looks at cases of child sex abuse by coaches ranging from Prestonsburg to Paducah.
- Ex-JCPS football coaches, and twin brothers, Donnie and Ronnie Stoner appeared in Jefferson Circuit Court on July 21 on 52 total counts of child sex-related charges regarding four minors.
- Donnie Stoner is the former head football coach of duPont Manual, until he was abruptly removed in July 2023 following child sex abuse charges with another minor.
- Donnie Stoner is also facing criminal charges in another case, as well as a civil lawsuit.
With their accusers sitting in the courtroom behind them, two former Jefferson County Public Schools coaches listened as an attorney entered not-guilty pleas for both on child sex abuse charges.
Donnie and Ronnie Stoner, who last worked at duPont Manual High School and previously worked and coached at other schools within JCPS, were then placed on home incarceration July 21 by Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry.
A Jefferson County grand jury indicted the twin brothers July 18 on over 50 combined counts related to child sex abuse charges related to four minors, identified by the initials A.S., A.F., A.J. and A.C.
The counts span from May 2005 to July 2023.
Zach Kilgore, also named in the case, did not appear in court.
Perry scheduled a bond hearing in the case for July 29.
The case was originally set for Circuit Judge Julie Kaelin’s court until she recused herself because of a conflict of interest. She told the court she formerly represented a co-defendant of Kilgore’s.
The case was reassigned to Perry’s case within an hour of the Stoner brothers’ original arraignment.
Donnie Stoner pleaded not guilty to 35 total counts of child sex abuse charges related to the four minors, including:
- 12 counts of sodomy;
- 11 total counts of rape (nine counts third-degree, two counts first);
- 8 counts of sexual abuse;
- 2 counts of unlawful transaction with a minor;
- 1 count of tampering with physical evidence;
- 1 count of conspiracy to commit unlawful transaction with a minor.
Ronnie Stoner pleaded not guilty to 21 total counts of child sex abuse charges related to the four minors, including:
- 6 total counts of sodomy (three counts in the third degree, three counts in the second degree);
- 6 total counts of rape (three counts in the third degree, one count in the second degree and two counts in the first degree);
- 4 counts of sexual abuse;
- 3 counts of unlawful transaction with a minor;
- 1 count of conspiracy to commit unlawful transaction with a minor;
- 1 count of incest.
Kilgore was charged in the indictment with one count of first-degree rape.
“It’s like the first step of any accountability for 20 years, so we’re very happy such a robust indictment was filed,” said one of the accusers who attended the hearing. “… Emotions are really high.”
The Stoner brothers walked out of the courtroom with three bailiffs and onto the elevator. They were not made available to reporters by attorney Rob Eggert, who represented both in the arraignments. Eggert is the legal representation for Donnie Stoner. Ronnie Stoner is still working to obtain legal representation.
From 2005 to present
Personnel files for both Donnie and Ronnie Stoner obtained by The Courier Journal through Kentucky’s Open Records Act show the brothers ― formerly known as LaDon and LaRon ― first began coaching at Evangel Christian in 2005, the year the counts in the grand jury indictment began.
Donnie Stoner’s JCPS tenure began in 2010 as a paid freshman football coach at Fern Creek, where Ronnie would eventually join him as an assistant football coach.
By 2013, Donnie Stoner became an assistant junior varsity football coach. By 2015, he began at Newburg Middle School. And by 2015, he was named varsity assistant football coach.
In 2017, he moved to duPont Manual as varsity assistant football coach until 2022, when he became the head coach there. There are charges that relate to different minors throughout this time period, too.
On July 13, 2023, JCPS “temporarily removed” Donnie Stoner from his coaching duties. He was arraigned 18 days later on rape, sodomy and child sex abuse charges of a Manual student. That trial is set for Aug. 26, which was delayed from March 11.
Following a court hearing in February, JCPS confirmed Donnie Stoner was still working for the district in a position that had no contact with students. On July 18, JCPS confirmed he was no longer employed by the district, but spokesperson Mark Hebert wasn’t sure when the change took place.
An open records request for Stoner’s resignation or termination letter has not yet been fulfilled.
Donnie Stoner has an active criminal case regarding child sex abuse with a former Manual student. Ronnie Stoner and Kilgore have not faced previous child sex abuse charges related to this group of minors.
Donnie Stoner is also facing a civil suit. That suit, originally filed under seal because of a state law, was filed in September 2024. The student, who is no longer a minor, filed a motion to unseal the case. That motion was granted in January 2025.
The civil suit also names Ronnie Stoner, as well as Manual principal Michael Newman and athletic director David Zuberer, claiming they “knew or should have known” about Donnie Stoner’s conduct and were negligent in his hiring, training, supervision and retention.
In response to the suit, Ronnie Stoner denied the allegations due to a lack of “sufficient knowledge,” according to court documents.
In response to the lawsuit, JCPS claimed governmental immunity. It’s a common claim by school districts across the commonwealth used to avoid liability in child sex abuse cases, The Courier Journal found as part of its series, Silence & Secrets, which discovered at least 80 Kentucky middle- and high-school coaches were alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct in the last 15 years.
Stoner’s case was one of the more prominent cases profiled in “Silence & Secrets.”
At the time of its publishing, there were at least three former JCPS coaches on trial for charges related to child sex abuse.
One of those coaches, Christopher “Ro” Morris, has a trial starting this week for charges related to the alleged child sex abuse of two former athletes he coached at two JCPS middle schools.
Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter. Reach her at skuzydym@courier-journal.com or on social at @stephkuzy.
