VISTA (NEWS 8/CNS) - A preliminary hearing began Monday for a San Diego County sheriff's deputy facing charges that he groped or sexually assaulted 16 women while on patrol.
Richard Fischer, 32, first surrendered to authorities in February after allegations surfaced months earlier that he had allegedly groped or fondled 13 women. He was charged with sexual battery, assault and battery by an officer, and false imprisonment.
The first woman to take the stand in the criminal case against Fischer was a 51-year-old Vista mother of 3 who says Fischer came to her home multiple times beginning on New Year’s Eve 2015.
“He said, ‘can I have a hug?’ I said, ‘ok,’” the woman testified. “It was New Year’s Eve, I didn’t see any harm in that.” But she says after that there were multiple visits where he would just show up unannounced.
She says he became more and more aggressive - at one point she says he physically attacked her: first kissing her, groping her, and then pulling her onto a bed. She says Fischer was in his deputy uniform, wearing his gun when he forced her to perform a sex act on him.
On the stand, she described him grabbing the back of her head during the incident. She said she could hear his K-9 in patrol car.
"I remember [a] dog barking really loud,” she said. “His dog from the car.”
Then moments later she said he stopped said he was married with a child and left.
During cross examination, Fischer’s defense attorney fired question after question at the woman.
The lawyer asked if Fischer told the woman his wife’s name, or the name of his child, or if his child was a boy or girl.
The judge told the lawyer to slow down. "It’s gonna get murky if everyone is talking over each other,” said the judge. “It has to do with the speed at which you’re asking questions.”
A 25-year-old victim who also testified Monday said she was handcuffed and groped in a patrol car.
There were some questions the lawyer asked the 51-year-old alleged victim repeatedly:
“Did you call 911 to report the incident?” “Did you send an email to the DA’s office?” “Did you get in a car to report the incident?”
The woman responded that she did not do those things and gave her reasons why:
"I was scared, embarrassed,” she said. “I was scared to lose my job, not to be believed, or how the police [were] going to treat me.”
In July, Fischer appeared with his wife and new attorney in front of the San Diego Central Courthouse, saying the charges against him are false.
In August, prosecutors added five new charges against the defendant, including forcible oral copulation, involving three more women.
Deputy District Attorney Annette Irving told Judge Daniel Goldstein at the end of a five-day preliminary hearing on the original charges earlier this year that Fischer "preyed" upon the alleged victims while on duty and in full uniform, mostly late at night.
Fischer asked the alleged victims for hugs, touched the breasts of some, and moved the hand of one woman over his crotch while they hugged for a third time, Irving said.
When the woman asked Fischer what he was doing, he said "Don't tell anyone," according to the prosecutor.
Fischer faces more than 25 years behind bars if convicted of all charges.
At least 20 women have filed lawsuits against Fischer in civil court.
The hearing will enable a judge to determine if a trial is warranted over the five new charges against Fischer.
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