Trainer for NBA stars Rob McClanaghan accused of rape, drugging woman held on $30K bail, DA says

BOSTON — Robert McClanaghan, a high-profile NBA trainer, was ordered held on $30,000 bail Tuesday on charges that he drugged and brutally raped a woman in a downtown Boston hotel, then sent the victim a sexually-explicit photograph the next morning, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.

McClanaghan, 43, of Warwick, Rhode Island, was arrested Friday in Rhode Island on a warrant and charged with rape and drugging for intercourse. On Tuesday, Judge James Stanton ordered McClanaghan held in lieu of $30,000 bail. If released, McClanaghan must surrender his passport, wear a GPS tracking bracelet and stay in Rhode Island with the exception of meeting with his defense attorneys in Massachusetts.

Prosecutors on Tuesday detailed a brutal sexual assault that occurred on Nov. 3.

Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy said McClanaghan met the victim in the bar of a Boston hotel. Surveillance video obtained by investigators showed McClanaghan and the victim in the bar, McClanaghan retrieving something from his pants pocket and then appearing to sprinkle something over the top of the victim’s drink. 

Surveillance also showed McClanaghan and the victim entering an elevator and exiting on the floor of the victim’s hotel room.

Murphy said the victim remembered little of what happened next.  When the victim woke up, she was in the hotel room bed, bleeding and covered in bruises. 

The woman contacted police, and detectives noted bruising on her knees, ankles, hips, neck, arms and back. 

The victim showed detectives a photo that McClanaghan sent to her phone the morning after the incident, Murphy said. The photos depicted a man performing sexual acts on a woman on a bed similar to the victim’s hotel bed. The victim also noted that the watch being worn by the man in the photo was similar to the watch worn by McClanaghan. The victim told police that her underwear was missing.

Murphy said investigators executed a search warrant on McClanaghan’s house and found the victim’s underwear, along with other women’s underwear.

Hayden applauded the victim for coming forward to police with information about the incident. He cautioned everyone, particularly women, to be vigilant while in bars and restaurants.

“This strikes right to the very heart of how horrible and dark sexual assault cases of this nature can be,” Hayden said. “These cases are hard to prove, and can be very difficult, and we want everyone in our communities, particularly women, to be vigilant around times when they’re celebrating in bars and restaurants. Vigilant about who you’re getting your drink from, making sure it’s from your server or bartender directly, always being mindful and watchful.”

McClanaghan is due back in court on Jan. 30.

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