Up to 11 accusers possible in child sex abuse trial
Ex-state psychiatrist Dr. Charles Fischer’s trial to start Tuesday.
Prosecutors could call as many as 11 witnesses who say they were sexually abused by former state psychiatrist Dr. Charles Fischer in a long-awaited trial that is expected to start with opening statements Tuesday.
Travis County state District Judge Karen Sage has blocked offff at least two weeks for the trial, which comes after years of delays and an extensive run-up.
Fischer, 64, was charged in 2012 with having sex with fifive teenage boys who were under his care at the Austin State Hospital from 2001 to 2005. However, jurors could hear testimony about six additional victims, court documents show.
Fischer, who is free on bail, is charged with two counts of sexual assault, nine counts of sexual assault of a child, seven counts of indecency with a child by contact and fifive counts of indecency with a child by exposure, according to the original indictment.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Patricia Gunning, special pros-
ecutor and inspector general for New York state’s Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, said that, although the case would be strengthened if
l 11 alleged victims get a chance to tell their stories toal the the j ury, “that doesn’t mean it’s a slam dunk for
prosecution.” Gunning added, “I think the prosecutors will be looking for patterns of behavior that were employed by the defendant in grooming these young victims.”
Assistant District Attorney Mary Farrington didn’t need to look far for additional accusers. Unpunished complaints against Fischer date to 1992, when a boy from Waco Center for Youth accused Fischer of mistreatment. In 2002, a Travis County grand jury heard additional allegations Fischer but against determindidn’t indict him, ing evidence to be insuffifficient for a criminal charge.
Additionally, documents from the Texas Medical Board show seven Austin State Hospital patients made allegations against Fischer between 2001 and 2006.
His 30-year career ended in October 2011, when investigators confifirmed Fischer had sexually abused at least child in his care. A fifired month one later, Fischer was and the Texas Medical Board suspended his license, citing nine patientswhohadaccusedhim of having sex with them in psychiatric facilities in Austin, Waco and San Antonio.
Prosecutors will need Sage’s approval before they can produce testimony on allegations not mentioned in Fischer’s indictment.
While many of the 11 accusers are in their 30s, one is now 40. Another happens to be the victim in another sexual assault case that resulted in suspected Interstate 35 rock thrower Patrick Johnson being sentenced to 99 years last month. And yet another, Ruben Macias, described in detail to the American-Statesman how Fischer locked the door to his offiffice, opened his pants to show he wasn’t wearing underwear and forced Macias into having sex.
All of Fischer’s alleged victims suffffered from mental illnesses, which experts say could compromise their testimony and raise doubts for jurors.
“This is not going to be an easy one,” Floyd Jennings, a Harris County attorney and former clinic al psychologist, told the Statesman in December. “It’s going to be a lot easier to defend than prosecute.”
Fischer’s defense attorneys, Gerry Morris and Chris Gunter, fifiled a motion Oct. 10 to suppress outcry statements made by any of the alleged victims. Outcry statements are allegations of sexual assault made to an adult by someone under the age of 14.