From the Pierce County Prosecutor’s office:
Today Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist charged Troy Fisher, 52, with 14 counts of Possession of Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexual Conduct. Fisher was a long-time employee of the Capital Playhouse in Olympia, where he frequently worked with children.
On July 23, 2012, the defendant’s family contacted the Olympia Police Department to report him missing. In an attempt to locate the defendant, police analyzed his phone and computer. He had recently fired an employee and there was a report of angry emails being sent to him.
Around 2 a.m. on July 25, the defendant called 911 from a payphone. Paramedics responded to find him dehydrated and disoriented, wearing pajamas and no shoes. He was transported to the hospital, where he told detectives that he had no memory of the prior 48 hours. The defendant said he couldn’t sleep the night of July 23 and went to his car to listen to music so he wouldn’t wake his niece and nephew, who were staying with him. His next memory was waking up under a bush two days later.
While the defendant was missing, a detective started to analyze his computer and found child pornography. A total of 151 images of suspected minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct were found. The images for which the defendant was charged depict a dozen girls and boys, ages 10-14, engaged in sexual activity with adult males and with each other.
When the defendant was arrested, he admitted there were pornographic images on his computer, but claimed any child pornography was unintentional. He told detectives that he viewed pornography on two computers at the Capital Playhouse. A search of these computers found 23 images, three of which were determined to involve minors.
The forensic analysis of the defendant’s computer showed that 17 pornography websites were accessed, nine of which the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children confirmed are involved in active law enforcement investigations for child pornography.
“We are committed to working with both local and national law enforcement agencies to end the scourge of child pornography,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. The Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office is handling the case at the request of the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office, which had a conflict.
The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned on December 11 at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 270 in the County City Building in Tacoma. Charges are only allegations and a person is presumed innocent unless he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
