Former city police officer pleads guilty to three charges

A former veteran Vancouver police officer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three charges relating to offences committed against two young women who were witnesses in a criminal prosecution.

Former detective constable James Albert Stanley Fisher, who was a member of the department’s counter-exploitation unit, appeared briefly in provincial court in Surrey and pleaded guilty to one count of breach of trust by kissing a girl under the age of 18 for a sexual purpose between Aug. 22, 2015 and December 2015 in Vancouver and Surrey.

He also pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting the same girl and pleaded guilty to breach of trust by kissing a second young woman between Dec. 3 and Dec. 6, 2015 in Burnaby.

Details of the criminal prosecution the two witnesses were involved in were not revealed in court Wednesday.

Provincial Court Judge Rob Hamilton issued a publication ban on any information that might identify the victims, including their initials.

Before the pleas were entered, the judge made sure that Fisher understood that he was admitting all of the essential elements of the three offences and that he understood and accepted the consequences of the pleas.

Fisher also said he understood that the judge was not bound by any agreement that had been reached between his lawyer and the Crown in terms of a potential sentence and that it would be up to the judge to decide on a fit and proper sentence.

Crown counsel Amanda Starno asked the judge to consider allowing a video to be produced of the two complainants providing victim impact statements. The judge said he would make a decision on that issue at a later date and ordered a pre-sentence report for Fisher.

A one-day sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 29. Fisher, who is on bail and will remain on bail pending his sentencing, faces a mandatory minimum of 90 days in jail for the sexual exploitation count. The breach of trust counts do not have mandatory minimum jail terms.

The accused and his lawyer, Bill Smart, declined to comment on the reasons for the guilty plea, which came two days after his trial had been expected to open.

Fisher was suspended from duty in December 2016 and retired from the department in January 2017.