The director of a nonprofit evangelical drama ministry pleaded no contest Monday to two counts of corruption of minors.

A Lancaster County judge sentenced Paul Daniel Neidermyer III, 59, of 456 Dolly Drive, Manheim Township, to 5-years' probation and fined him $500.

Judge David L. Ashworth also prohibited Neidermyer from having unsupervised contact with anyone under age 18.

In a no-contest plea, a defendant agrees to the facts of the case against him but denies guilt. For sentencing purposes, it's the same as a guilty plea.

Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey A. Conrad contended Neidermyer, the director of Maranatha Productions Inc., conducted nude acting classes with two 17-year-old boys in his basement.

He had both boys undress and inappropriately touched one of them during the acting exercises, Conrad said. The classes were conducted in 2004 from Feb. 24 until April 24.

Neidermyer denied Monday ever making the boys undress.

"I'm not contesting those facts, even though, sir, they are not true," Neidermyer told Ashworth. "I'm pleading this way to bring closure to my life."

Neidermyer said he planned to present a vigorous defense before deciding to avoid a trial and plead no contest.

"I've endured this for two years and collected 1,350 pages of evidence," Neidermyer said. "I wasn't in the country. I was in Britain. I brought 45 witnesses from Sweden, England and the U.S. because I was thinking I was going to trial."

His attorney, Christopher M. Patterson, told Ashworth that students sometimes act in the nude to prepare for their roles.

"The purpose of acting in the nude is to free the inhibitions of the actor," Patterson said. "There is a style of acting called method acting which prepares actors for certain roles. For example, the 'Chet Bitterman Story' involves a scene where barbed wire is wrapped around the genitals to simulate torture."

Maranatha Productions has produced "Martyred: The Chet Bitterman Story," which told the story of the Lancaster County missionary who was taken hostage and slain in 1981.

The company also produced "The Passion of Christ" and "Bartimaeus," which tells the story of an encounter between a blind beggar and a wandering rabbi 2,000 years ago on a dusty road in Jericho.

In 2006, Maranatha produced O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi" and "But Now I See," the dramatic story about the hymn "Amazing Grace."

Neidermyer wrote, directed and produced most of the plays. He has been involved in theatrical productions for about 40 years and has traveled internationally as director of Maranatha.

Neidermyer asked the judge about the provision that he is prohibited from having contact with minors.

"My organization is nonprofit and dramatizes scriptures," he told Ashworth. "We perform productions in Christian schools, churches and theaters. I have no way of knowing if audience members are minors."

Ashworth told Neidermyer he will go to jail if he violates the conditions of his parole.

"Regardless of your intentions, it's critical you read or reread the parole conditions because you don't want a bench warrant to be issued," Ashworth said. "The bottom line is, use your common sense."

Brett Lovelace's e-mail address is blovelace@lnpnews.com.