KOMO News this week reported that a former assistant football coach at Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish has been charged with sexually assaulting a current student.

Joseph A. Chimenti is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old female Eastside student, while he was holidaying with her parents at a resort in Chelan this summer.

Chimenti was arrested at his Sammamish home on July 21, and has pleaded not guilty to fourth-degree sex assault.

He has been released on bail.

This allegation has raised some serious questions as to how Chimenti was hired at Eastside.

Early reports alleged that the coach had already been charged with sexual assault from a previous incident in Virginia, when he was hired in Sammamish.

However the Director of Marketing and Communications at Eastside Catholic, Patti Finley, told The Reporter on Wednesday that when the school conducted a background check on Chimenti in October 2008, during his interview process, the check revealed no charges against him, or convictions.

According to the KOMO News report, the charges in Virginia were filed in April of 2008.

Chimenti later served time for the incident in Virginia, where he sexually assaulted a female friend of his daughter.

“At the time of his being appointed as a coach here, he had not been charged or convicted of anything,” Finley said.

She added that the primary focus of the school was the safety and security of all the students and families.