Jeremy Pawloski, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash. –
A judge allowed suspended Capital Playhouse interim artistic director Troy A. Fisher to be released from custody on his own personal recognizance Monday after his arrest Friday on suspicion of possession of child pornography.
The personal recognizance bond means that Fisher does not have to post bail. However, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor did set as a condition of Fisher’s release that he not have any unsupervised contact with minors. Tabor ordered two juvenile family members — a niece and nephew who had been staying with Fisher at his Lacey residence — to vacate the premises.
Tabor also found probable cause to support two counts of possession of child pornography — one in the first-degree, the other in the second-degree — against Fisher.
Olympia police arrested Fisher on Friday, just five days after he had been reported missing July 22. Olympia police searched Fisher’s home for clues about where he might be, and searched Fisher’s computer in the hopes they might find something about his whereabouts, Fisher’s attorney, Paul Strophy, said Monday.
Strophy said he is not aware whether the family authorized the police department to search Fisher’s computer.
During the search of the computer, a detective trained in computer forensics found suspected child pornography — two photos of boys between the ages of 10 and 13 “engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” court papers state.
Fisher, 52, was found unharmed at the Safeway on Olympia’s west side about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday when he called 911 from a pay phone. He said he had no recollection about what had happened to him while he was missing. He was subsequently treated at Providence St. Peter Hospital.
Fisher was placed on administrative leave from the playhouse on Friday after his arrest. Capital Playhouse board member Kim Wallace said there is no indication any of the children who have participated in theater programs under Fisher’s direction are potential victims of any crimes.
“The police have made absolutely no mention of anything like that,” Wallace said.
Strophy said Monday that Fisher’s computer was not password protected, meaning that it’s possible someone who had been staying with Fisher in the past could have downloaded the images found on his computer. “A lot of friends and family stay with him,” Strophy said.
Also, Fisher had bought the computer used, meaning that the images in question could have already been stored on the hard drive, Strophy added.
“There’s definitely issues,” Strophy said. “He denies knowingly having the images.”
Fisher has no prior criminal history. The Capital Playhouse, located on Fourth Avenue in downtown Olympia, puts on plays involving children and teens and runs children’s theater and musical workshops.
Strophy said that when he was in a play as a Capital High School student in the early 1990s, Fisher was the musical director.
“Between now and then he’s worked with hundreds of children, and he’s never had any problems with accusations,” Strophy said.
