Former softball coach sentenced to jail, probation for sexually assaulting player

CHARLOTTE — An Eaton Rapids man and former softball coach who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a teenage player was sentenced Friday to one year in jail and as part of a plea agreement.

In addition to the jail term, William Steven Kunkel Jr., of Eaton Rapids, must complete five years probation, register as a sex offender, is barred from having any verbal, written, electronic or physical contact with anyone 17 or younger,  must undergo sex offender treatment and, after being released from jail, he will be electronically monitored with a GPS.

Kunkel was credited with 33 days served in jail.

Kunkel pleaded guilty to one count of sexually abusive activity toward a child, three counts of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He was charged in March 2021 with one count of child sexually abusive activity and two counts each of second and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, Michigan State Police said in a news release last year. Kunkel entered a not guilty plea at the time.

Friday, his attorney Matt Newburg said all his client asked was that Circuit Court Judge John Maurer honor the plea agreement.

Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Anderson said Kunkel manipulated a 15-year-old girl into a sexual relationship.

"He painted a picture to her that she was the most important person in his life," Anderson said.

The girl, Anderson said, had nothing to gain by coming forward with her experiences. She told prosecutors Kunkel has many connections to the softball community and, at the time, she had hoped to play the sport in college.

“He had connections at the next level for college. In that circuit of travel ball, reputation is important, who your coaches are is important, and it was important to her that she … didn’t lose that connection,” Anderson said. “If that’s her goal, what’s the incentive to make it all up? It wasn’t made up.”

Kunkel had been a prominent figure in the area’s fastpitch softball community.

He organized and ran training clinics for various junior men's national teams and also worked with U.S. junior men's team members, according to a 2017 posting by the International Softball Congress.

Kunkel also was selected to the USA Softball Men's Fast Pitch national team coaches pool and was named as a commissioner-at-large for the ISC in 2017, according to the ISC.

Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.