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Former Lancaster County doctor will serve up to 20 years in prison after pleading no contest to sexual assault

Dr. William Vollmar pleaded no contest to charges in six cases against him in Lancaster County Court Thursday and was sentenced to 9.5 to 20 years in state prison.

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Editor's Note: The above video is from May 2019.

Update, 3:45 p.m.: Dr. William Vollmar pleaded no contest to the charges in six sexual assault cases against him. While not an admission of guilt, a no-contest plea means he acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him should the cases go to trial.

Vollmar will serve a state prison term of 9 1/2 to 20 years.

Original Story

A Lancaster County doctor who is the subject of numerous sexual assault allegations dating back to 2015 is expected to enter a guilty plea in a Lancaster County courtroom Thursday afternoon.

Dr. William R. Vollmar, 57, is charged with multiple offenses in connection the allegations, including corruption of minors, indecent contact without consent, unlawful contact with a minor, sexual assault, and indecent assault, according to court records. 

Court records indicate he is scheduled to plead guilty before Lancaster Countyt Judge Dennis E. Reinaker Thursday afternoon.

Vollmar, a sports medicine specialist, was employed by a number of school districts in Lancaster and Dauphin counties, including Middletown Area School District, Lampeter-Strasburg School District, Pequea Valley School District, Lancaster Country Day School, Conestoga Valley School District, Octorara Area School District and Solanco School District. 

He was also employed by the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster.

He was initially charged in April 2019, when a Lancaster County man accused him of having inappropriate contact with him during a deep tissue massage at a clinic in Quarryville. 

The man had initially made an appointment to have Vollmar examine his injured ankle, he said. 

Vollmar allegedly told police the incident was “a huge misunderstanding, mostly on my part.”

Vollmar allegedly told police that while he was manipulating the victim’s hips, he thought the victim was revealing interest in more than a massage, so Vollmar “touched his penis.”

When asked if the victim ever gave him permission to touch his penis, Vollmar said no, police said.

A second victim came forward a week after Vollmar was arrested, reporting similar contact, and four others came forward in May 2019, prompting the state Attorney General's Office to take over the investigation.

An additional 13 people came forward with allegations against Vollmar in August 2019, prompting the Attorney General's Office to file a motion to allow their testimony to be admitted in proceedings against him.

The 13 additional alleged victims ranged from a 15-year-old boy to an elderly woman, according to the Attorney General's Office. The alleged offenses happened between 1990 and 2018, according to the filing.

The Attorney General’s Office said most of the 13 allegations against Vollmar occurred beyond the statute of limitations, so additional criminal charges cannot be filed. But the attorney general is asking that some or all of the alleged victims be allowed to testify to show evidence of Vollmar’s modus operandi, the filing states.

In all, Vollmar was charged with seven felonies and five misdemeanors related to the alleged sexual assault of six male victims between January 1997 and April of 2019.

Vollmar was a practicing physician from 1992 until 2019, when he abruptly retired in light of the sexual abuse allegations.

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