Vancouver Police Department.
A long-time Vancouver police officer honoured by the department for protecting young sex workers from exploitation is facing six criminal charges related to the alleged sexual assaults of two victims last year – one of whom was a minor at the time who may have been a witness in an ongoing court case.
Chief Adam Palmer held a news conference Thursday to announce the charges against Detective Constable James (Jim) Albert Stanley Fisher, a 29-year veteran of the force who was arrested the day before.
Det. Constable Fisher was working in special unit that investigates crimes related to prostitution, human trafficking and child exploitation.
Chief Palmer said no other officers are suspects, though he said the department does not know whether there are any other victims and urged any one with any information about the suspect to come forward.
"It's just a very unfortunate set of circumstances and a difficult thing for me to come here and stand before you today and talk about this, but, that said, when we heard about it we got onto this quickly and did the right thing," Chief Palmer told a room full of reporters and senior officials from the force.
Det. Constable Fisher faces five charges involving two victims dating back to incidents from August to December, 2015.
These charges include three counts of sexual exploitation against one victim; one count of breach of trust by sexually touching a witness in a criminal prosecution; and one count of sexual assault.
He also faces one count of obstructing justice by providing false or misleading information to a Burnaby Mountie last month.
None of the allegations have been proved in court and Det. Constable Fisher has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea or formally respond to the charges.
Chief Palmer praised the internal processes that led to the charges, while defending his force's decision to keep the suspect on the job while he was being investigated.
Chief Palmer said his department started an internal investigation into the officer's conduct in March of this year after a fellow member came forward with serious allegations involving their colleague.
After receiving the tip, the department immediately notified the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, the watchdog for municipal forces across the province, and then, along with help from the Burnaby RCMP and a special Crown prosecutor, proceeded to build a covert case against the officer, the chief said.
"It was necessary to keep him on active duty while the investigation unfolded, while we gathered evidence," he said.
"We had safety plans in place to ensure that nobody was in any danger whatsoever."
The case will be heard in Surrey Provincial Court and be prosecuted by a Crown attorney who has no prior relationship with the suspect.
Det. Constable Fisher was part of a team that received a Vancouver Police Department citation of merit last year and an award from the B.C. government the year before for his work investigating Reza Moazami.
Mr. Moazami was a B.C. man who was caught running a ring of teenage sex slaves and sentenced last year for charges of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, sexual assault and living off the avails of prostitution.
Det. Constable Fisher, who has been suspended by the force, has been released on bail with a number of conditions, including being prohibited from contacting a number of people involved with other investigations, according to a Criminal Justice Branch spokesman.
He is due to appear in court again next month.
A publication ban in his continuing case means few details about the victims can be released, Chief Palmer said.
Chief Palmer said his department is still investigating whether the alleged offences have affected any of the recent cases involving the officer.