Area EMS chief charged with sexual assault

The chief of an ambulance service based near Mount Holly Springs is accused of having intercourse with a 15-year-old girl who was participating in an emergency medical service (EMS) training program.

Douglas Shields "has been suspended indefinitely from his position and employment" with Yellow Breeches Emergency Medical Services "pending the outcome of the criminal case," according to a statement on the organization's Facebook page.

Shields, 52, of Mount Holly Springs, was charged with four felony counts, including statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, and sexual assault by a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit, as well as a misdemeanor count of indecent assault of a person less that 16 years old, according to a magisterial docket.

The teen claimed she and Shields, beginning in March 2021, had "sexual contact multiple times at the EMS station," according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Jacob Fackler.

Such contact allegedly occurred in locations including Shields’ dorm room at the station and "outside on a secluded side of the building," according to the affidavit filed Jan. 26. The teen claimed she stayed overnight in a dorm room at the station seven to 10 times, according to the affidavit.

In an online conversation via Snapchat, Shields allegedly wrote to the teen, "I have to worry about things getting out. That will kill me," according to the affidavit.

When interviewed, Shields allegedly denied the teen had been at his residence and said the Snapchat messages "were taken out of context, and it was really about a comment he had made regarding his dying mother," according to the affidavit.

The teen claimed "she had gone to his residence once alone," where Shields allegedly "tried to convince her to have sex," according to the affidavit.

The teen allegedly provided police with a photo she claimed to have taken of a distinctive wooden clock at the residence as well as "details about the inside of Shields’ residence" that allegedly matched what Fackler saw there, according to the affidavit.

When questioned, Shields allegedly "gave multiple conflicting responses in reference to these allegations," according to the affidavit.

Unsecured bail of $25,000 was set for Shields, according to the docket. Unsecured means no money had to be posted, but that he would be liable for the full amount if he were to violate bail conditions or fail to appear in court.

A preliminary hearing is planned March 22, according to the docket.

The EMS station is on Mill Street about four miles north of the Adams County border.

Shields received the Firefighters’ Association of the State of Pennsylvania's EMS Leadership Award in 2019, according to a post on Yellow Breeches’ Facebook page.

Shields was suspended from his position as a part-time Mt. Holly code zoning officer, according to information provided to the Gettysburg Times from the Mt. Holly Police Department via Facebook Messenger.

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