VISTA, Calif. (AP) - A former San Diego County sheriff’s deputy who admitted to on-duty misconduct with 16 women was sentenced Tuesday to three years and eight months in prison.
Richard Fischer pleaded guilty in September to assault and battery by an officer and false imprisonment. Before striking a plea deal, Fischer had faced 20 charges, including an allegation that he forced one woman to perform a sex act.
As part of the deal, prosecutors dismissed that criminal complaint - including the alleged sexual assault - and filed a new one that had seven charges, but named all 16 women as victims, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The women said Fischer groped, hugged or tried to kiss them after they encountered him on the job.
The circumstances of the encounters varied, the newspaper said. Some said the misconduct happened while they were detained or in custody. A few said Fischer had been among deputies who responded to calls for assistance, and that Fischer would return hours or days later, asking for hugs or kisses.
Some of the women had encountered Fischer after calling 911 to report crimes such as domestic violence. Others had been stopped by the deputy for a variety of reasons, such as a broken vehicle tail light.
Fischer was also ordered to serve 16 months under supervision in the community, the newspaper said. Under California’s public safety realignment law, some non-violent offenders can serve part of a sentence locally, in county jail, and part of the term on mandatory supervision.
He must serve 22 months behind bars before he is eligible for release.
Fischer, 33, and the Sheriff’s Department are also named in numerous lawsuits. The county already has paid out $900,000 to settle several suits.
Fischer, who was a Marine reservist who had once been deployed to Afghanistan, was initially put on desk duty, then on unpaid administrative leave. In February, the department said he was no longer an employee, the newspaper said.
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