Former Vancouver police detective James Fisher has been sentenced to 20 months behind bars after pleading guilty to kissing two young women who were witnesses in a criminal case he was probing.
Fisher was handed the jail term Tuesday in provincial court in Surrey, along with two years’ probation. BC Prosecution Service confirmed to Black Press Media his jail time will be less credit for three days time served.
He pleaded guilty in June to three charges, including breach of trust and sexual exploitation for kissing the teenager, and breach of trust for kissing the young woman.
Before his arrest and subsequent retirement, Fisher was a 29-year veteran of the force and a member of a team that investigates prostitution, criminal exploitation and child sex abuse.
Fisher told the court in the past he is “embarrassed and ashamed” as he apologized to the two young women, the Vancouver Police Department and the Crown.
The teenager was 17 when he kissed her on three occasions for up to 10 minutes. Fisher said he regretted causing her to lose her faith in police.
“I know that she trusted me and for the rest of my life I’ll regret that breach of trust,” he said. “I offer no excuses or justification. It was wrong and I want to publicly apologize to both of them.”
The girl said in a victim impact statement that the officer’s actions caused her to relapse with a drug addiction and drop out of school.
“Those memories are still some of the most painful ones of my life,” she said in a video played for the court. “It feels like the ultimate breach of trust from someone when I was most vulnerable.”
With files from The Canadian Press
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