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	Shields Scheduled for Sentencing Today By Peter E. Bortner Republican & Herald [Pennsylvania] May 14, 2007 http://www.republicanherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18337778&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=529074&rfi=6 For Daniel M. Shields Jr., today is sentencing day in Schuylkill County Court. Schuylkill Community Education Council At the 2 p.m. hearing before Judge D. Michael Stine, Shields, 62, of 30 Bryn Mawr Ave., Pottsville, will learn how long he will spend in prison for videotaping female athletes in the Nativity BVM High School locker room and sexually assaulting one of them. It will end a 21-month case that brought a shocking halt to the career of one of Schuylkill County's most noteworthy high school football and track coaches. While Shields faces a maximum possible sentence of 59 years in prison, state sentencing guidelines suggest he will get far less, although it is certain he will get some prison time. He also will have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law, and will still face civil lawsuits filed by two of his victims. Shields pleaded guilty on March 1 to five counts of invasion of privacy, four of sexual abuse of children, two of indecent assault and one of corruption of minors. Prosecutors dropped a charge of aggravated indecent assault and Stine dismissed four additional counts of corruption of minors. Pottsville police alleged Shields assaulted a female track team member at various times, including at his East Norwegian Township home and on a training table at school, and videotaped girls' track team members undressing in the locker room from November 2004 through May 2005. Prosecutors filed three separate cases against Shields but were allowed by the court to try them together. District Attorney James P. Goodman has said he will ask Stine to impose a prison term of a couple years on Shields, but declined Friday to be more specific about how long a sentence he wants. He did say that First Assistant District Attorney Karen Noon, the chief prosecutor in the case, met Friday with the victims. "We don't know at this point" whether those victims will speak at the sentencing hearing, Goodman said Friday. Emmanuel H. Dimitriou, Reading, Shields' attorney, said he there will be people speaking on behalf of his client, but he declined to say who, or whether Shields himself would say anything. "I can't really tell you that," Dimitriou said as to whether his client would speak. Defendants have the constitutional right to speak at their sentencing, even if they are unwilling to take the oath and testify. Goodman and Dimitriou each declined to comment further on the case. In imposing the sentence, Stine will have access to the presentence investigation prepared by the county Office of Adult Probation and Parole. That document, which is confidential and accessible only to the court, prosecutors and the defendant, includes information on Shields' personal and professional life. Only the sexual abuse of children charges carry a mandatory minimum prison term, which is six to 14 months. The other crimes each carry the potential for a term of probation as opposed to prison. Stine also has the option of imposing sentences concurrently, meaning they will be served at the same time; consecutively, meaning they will be served one after the other, or a combination of the two. However, since Shields pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of children and indecent assault, Shields will have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law. That will require him to register his address, employment and schooling, if any, with the state police, be photographed by them annually and report any changes to any of those to them within 48 hours. Megan's Law was enacted in Pennsylvania, numerous other states and at the federal level after the July 29, 1994, murder of Megan Nicole Kanka, 7, in Hamilton Township, N.J. Jesse Timmendequas, Kanka's killer, was one of her neighbors and a twice-convicted sex offender. Shields' arrest stunned many in the educational and sports communities and ended one of the longest coaching careers in county scholastic sports history. A teacher for 40 years, Shields had been the boys' track coach for 35 years at Nativity BVM, the school's girls' track coach since 1994 and its football coach for 27 years. He was an assistant coach for Pottsville Area High School's football team for two years and served as offensive coordinator for Blue Mountain High School's football team for five years before being fired after his arrest. During his 27 years coaching the Nativity BVM football team, the squad reached the 1989 Eastern Conference Class C championship game and produced several athletes who went on to play at Division I, II and III colleges. Two of the victims in the case filed civil lawsuits in 2005 in Schuylkill County Court against Shields, Nativity BVM and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown. Those cases are still active, since it is customary for such lawsuits to be delayed until related criminal charges are resolved. Under Pennsylvania law, Shields' admissions can be used against him in the civil lawsuits, but he will be allowed to contest those lawsuits in spite of his guilty plea to the criminal charges. • Age: 62 • Address: 30 Bryn Mawr Ave., Pottsville (East Norwegian Township) • Charges: Invasion of privacy, five counts; sexual abuse of children, four counts; indecent assault, two counts; corruption of minors, one count Contact: pbortner@republicanherald.com
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