DARLINGTON - An Amish teenager charged with sexually assaulting an underage Fayette girl in her home earlier this month appeared in court Monday for a preliminary hearing.
Daniel Esh Fisher, 17, Blanchardville, was charged with second-degree forcible sexual assault, false imprisonment, exposing a child's genitals, suffocation and burglary after he entered a Fayette residence at approximately 1 a.m. on April 8 and restrained and raped a female there.
Lafayette County District Attorney Katherine Findley said Fisher had walked more than two miles to the victim's residence, knowing the victim's parents would not be there. After waiting outside until all lights inside were extinguished, he entered through an unlocked window and investigated each bedroom in the house until he found one whose sole occupant was female.
According to the police report, Fisher then, with some struggle, removed the victim's clothes before he bound and gagged her. As he assaulted her, Fisher prevented her from crying out by pressing his hand on her mouth and nose, temporarily cutting off her ability to breathe.
After he was done, Fisher left the way he entered, leaving the victim bound.
On Monday, with more than 30 members of the Amish community attending, Fisher waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial. His attorney, Jane Bucher, requested an amendment to his $50,000 cash bond.
Bucher argued that Fisher's current bond, which prohibits any contact with girls under the age of 18, is "unworkable" at his family's residence. Bucher proposed that his bond permit Fisher to reside with an Amish family, without any underage girls, that agreed to supervise him.
Findley objected to any modification of the bond. Fisher, she argued, was accused of committing a premeditated and calculated crime, going to great lengths to do so. Unless the supervising family discussed with law enforcement officers contingencies for preventing similar incidents, Findley said, Fisher's bond should not be altered.
Reserve Judge David Deininger withheld ruling on Fisher's bond conditions but said he will address the issue again when Fisher appears in court for an arraignment today.
Fisher faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison.
Daniel Esh Fisher, 17, Blanchardville, was charged with second-degree forcible sexual assault, false imprisonment, exposing a child's genitals, suffocation and burglary after he entered a Fayette residence at approximately 1 a.m. on April 8 and restrained and raped a female there.
Lafayette County District Attorney Katherine Findley said Fisher had walked more than two miles to the victim's residence, knowing the victim's parents would not be there. After waiting outside until all lights inside were extinguished, he entered through an unlocked window and investigated each bedroom in the house until he found one whose sole occupant was female.
According to the police report, Fisher then, with some struggle, removed the victim's clothes before he bound and gagged her. As he assaulted her, Fisher prevented her from crying out by pressing his hand on her mouth and nose, temporarily cutting off her ability to breathe.
After he was done, Fisher left the way he entered, leaving the victim bound.
On Monday, with more than 30 members of the Amish community attending, Fisher waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial. His attorney, Jane Bucher, requested an amendment to his $50,000 cash bond.
Bucher argued that Fisher's current bond, which prohibits any contact with girls under the age of 18, is "unworkable" at his family's residence. Bucher proposed that his bond permit Fisher to reside with an Amish family, without any underage girls, that agreed to supervise him.
Findley objected to any modification of the bond. Fisher, she argued, was accused of committing a premeditated and calculated crime, going to great lengths to do so. Unless the supervising family discussed with law enforcement officers contingencies for preventing similar incidents, Findley said, Fisher's bond should not be altered.
Reserve Judge David Deininger withheld ruling on Fisher's bond conditions but said he will address the issue again when Fisher appears in court for an arraignment today.
Fisher faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison.