POTTSVILLE (PA)
The Morning Call
By Chris Parker
Of The Morning Call
A sobbing Pottsville Catholic high school graduate testified Tuesday that her former track coach sexually assaulted her but she kept it secret because he was so well respected in the community.
''Nobody would have believed me,'' the girl said through her tears.
In fact, the girl said that when Daniel M. Shields was suspended for five days in February when another student accused him of inappropriate touching, her mother supported Shields and called the Allentown Catholic Diocese to complain.
After about an hour of testimony from the nervous girl, Shields, 61, of 30 Bryn Mawr Ave., Pottsville, was ordered to face Schuylkill County Court on charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors.
Shields also will face trial on charges of sexual abuse of children, corruption of minors and invasion of privacy for allegedly secretly videotaping the girl who testified and at least two other girls undressing at Pottsville Nativity BVM High School.