Disgraced ex-cop pleads guilty to sexual exploitation
A former veteran Vancouver police officer pleaded guilty 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 Fisher understood he was admitting all of the essential elements of the three offences and he understood and accepted the consequences of the pleas.
Fisher also said he understood 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 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 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.
Sophia Hladik, a spokesperson for Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter who has been following the case, said she was relieved Fisher had been held accountable and noted his actions impacted public trust in the police.
“But it’s difficult to know the extent of his actions until the sentencing hearing,” she added.
On Wednesday, the Vancouver Police Department declined to comment as the matter is still before the courts.
Fisher, a 29-year Vancouver police veteran, was arrested in December 2016 and initially charged with three counts of sexual exploitation, one count of sexual assault, one count of breach of trust and one count of attempting to obstruct justice.
Three additional charges — two of sexual assault and one breach of trust — were approved in May 2017.
The charges that Fisher pleaded guilty to were newly filed by the Crown Tuesday. The earlier charges laid against him are being dismissed.
The VPD counter-exploitation unit investigates prostitution, criminal exploitation, human trafficking, online exploitation of children, child luring and child pornography. In 2015, Fisher was awarded a Chief Constable Unit Citation as part of a team that spent 3½ years investigating an operation that forced girls and women into prostitution.