New information has come to light this week about why a former San Diego County Sheriff's Deputy who pled guilty to assaulting multiple women while on the job was released from prison after serving just six months behind bars.
In December 2019, Richard Fischer was sentenced to 44 months in custody.
The San Diego District Attorney's office said he received custody credits under the law and was not released early.
One of the victims in this case told News 8 she is stunned.
"There’s just no justice, there’s just no justice," she said. "How dare anybody just let this guy walk around?"
The victim only wanted to be identified as K.H. She was among the women who testified against Fischer in court. More than a dozen women accused him of misconduct while on the job.
Yesterday, K.H. discovered Fischer had been released from custody May 15.
"I panicked, I totally panicked. I couldn’t believe it," she said.
In September, Fischer took a plea deal. He pled guilty to four felony counts of assault under color of authority, two misdemeanor counts of assault under color of authority, and one misdemeanor count of false imprisonment.
Under the charges, he's considered a non-violent offender. Therefore, with good behavior, his sentence in custody was cut in half to 22 months.
"Of that 22 months, approximately a year and a half was served on an ankle bracelet, pre-conviction pre-trial, and the other portion was served in the local county jail," said Fischer's defense attorney Gretchen von Helms.
Fischer was not required to register as a sex offender, but he will be required to wear an ankle bracelet for the next 16 months.
"This is not fair, it’s not right, I'm blindsided by this man who changed my life. He could be around the corner. I don’t know where he lives, I don’t know what he’s doing," said K.H.
"He’s destroyed any concept of justice for me, I mean this whole situation has destroyed my faith in justice, it really has, it truly has," she added.
K.H. said she's going to be making plans to move. She has a civil lawsuit that is still making its way through the legal system.
The San Diego County District Attorney's office issued this statement:
"On December 10, 2019, Richard Fischer was sentenced to five years in local prison pursuant to AB109, of which 44 months would be served in custody and 16 months under mandatory supervision. He was released on May 15 after receiving custody credits under the law, which is standard for every qualifying inmate. These credits were calculated by the Imperial County Probation Department and implemented by the Sheriff. There were no agreements to an early release by DA’s office. It does not appear that there was an early release by the Sheriff’s Department.
The issue of credits that inmates receive in jail or prison are understandably a point of concern for victims of crime as they are left with an expectation of how much time an offender will actually do behind bars when the reality could be different. Richard Fischer stands convicted of multiple felony crimes, is no longer in a position of trust that allows him to perpetrate further harm and he is under mandatory supervision."