Youth Soccer

A body discovered in a Plano home has been identified as that of a former soccer coach accused of inappropriately touching children on his teams.

Dennis Drummond

Plano police said Thursday that they think Dennis Gene Drummond, 65, killed himself recently. He faced five charges of indecency with a child and was indicted last week by a Collin County grand jury.

Plano police were called about 10 p.m. Wednesday to Mr. Drummond's home in the 1500 block of Sussex Drive to check on his welfare and found the body in the garage.

He died from carbon monoxide poisoning, Plano police spokesman Officer Rick McDonald said.

His body had been in the garage for at least a week and was so decomposed that the Collin County medical examiner had to use dental records to identify him, Officer McDonald said.

Mr. Drummond never spoke publicly about the accusations. But through his attorney, Paul Struckle, denied touchingthe children improperly.

"We felt very confident in our case and in the defense, that we would prevail," Mr. Struckle said by telephone Thursday. "But ultimately, the pressure and stress that Dennis was going through, all this hanging over his head, got to be too much for him."

Indecency with a child is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison.

Mr. Drummond coached five soccer teams over three years with the Plano Youth Soccer Association before taking his teams to the Plano Sports Authority earlier this year. But he resigned before coaching a game there.

Three charges stem from incidents the girls say happened at Mr. Drummond's home, including one in which Mr. Drummond was accused of improperly touching a girl over her bathing suit.

Second child said Mr. Drummond made her touch him improperly over his clothes, according to court filings.

He also allegedly touched a girl improperly over her soccer shorts last fall during a team practice at Horseshoe Park in Plano.

Plano Youth Soccer Association and Plano Sports Authority officials said they conducted criminal background checks on Mr. Drummond and found nothing.

Sachse police said they investigated similar allegations against Mr. Drummond in 2005. At that time, Mr. Drummond was a substitute in the Garland school district. Police referred that case to a Dallas County grand jury, which did not indict Mr. Drummond. He was never arrested on those allegations.

Because Mr. Drummond wasn't arrested during the Sachse investigation, those allegations wouldn't have shown up in a background check.

PYSA president George Ostrander hadn't heard Thursday about Mr. Drummond's indictment or his death.

"We tried to wash our hands of all that," Mr. Ostrander said. "He might not have been able to handle it. That's coming from a person that can't believe a person could do that with young kids."

Mr. Struckle said he last saw his client about a week ago and Mr. Drummond appeared in high spirits, ready to fight the charges. Still, the attorney said, the strain was evident.

Since his first arrest in March, Mr. Drummond has been vilified, Mr. Struckle said. Someone spray-painted "child molester" on his garage door. Afterward, Mr. Drummond moved out of the house, where he had lived alone since his wife died of cancer in 2000.

"There was obviously strong public sentiment regarding him," Mr. Struckle said. "Dennis Drummond was found guilty six months ago. He hadn't been to court yet. He hadn't been indicted yet. But he was guilty in the public eye. And that would never have changed."

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