by Jackie Nunnery
HEATHSVILLE—Following a day-and-a-half of testimony and legal arguments, a Northumberland County Circuit Court jury on Thursday, October 16, found Edward Logan Fisher of Heathsville guilty of a felony for object sexual penetration. Sentencing was scheduled for January 8.
Fisher also was charged with attempted rape, but that was dismissed by Judge Lee A. Harris Jr. before the case went to the jury.
The victim, who filed the complaint against Fisher with the Virginia State Police (VSP), testified she and Fisher had known each other since attending middle school and high school together in Northumberland, but were not close friends though occasionally worked together since she was a paramedic and he was a deputy. In April 2020, Fisher, a deputy for the Northumberland County Sheriff’s Office at the time, showed up at her Reedville home unannounced with boxes for her move into a home she was renting from Fisher’s grandmother.
She could not recall any lead up to the attack, but stated that Fisher started to kiss and bite on her neck as well as put his hands up her shirt, while the other hand was around her lower back. At some point in the struggle, in which she repeatedly said no, Fisher forced his hand down her pants and stimulated her genitals while pushing her toward her bedroom. “I was absolutely terrified. There was no one to call out to and I was afraid it was going to go further,” she said.
Texts made to a friend during the encounter and entered into evidence showed her pleading for a friend to call her. It was that call back, the victim said, that made Fisher stop and leave. However, she waited until May 2024 to report the attack because she “was afraid no one would believe” her and feared retaliation from law enforcement. She also said after the birth of her first child, she wanted them to grow up knowing that “if they need to come forward about something they can.”
Defense attorney S.W. Dawson told jurors to ask themselves “what’s really going on here?” He alleged the Commonwealth’s case “hinges on what a group of trained law enforcement officers said” and questioned the “suspicious circumstances” of a meeting that occurred on March 19, 2025, at the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office where Fisher was hired as a deputy in 2021. The meeting was attended by Sheriff Patrick McCranie, Capt. Tim Self, Lt. Brian O’Bier, Maj. Jimmy Smith and Fisher.
Dawson characterized the meeting as part of an “investigation” and questioned why the meeting was not recorded, why no notes were taken and how clearly they could have remembered what was said. He also asked jurors to consider, “Why was Lt. O’Bier so involved in this case?” Dawson suggested O’Bier had an issue with Fisher. The defense called just one witness, wife Bethany Fisher, to testify that she had seen two nude photos of O’Bier’s now ex-wife on Fisher’s phone in 2017. She said the photos were sent through Snapchat and disappeared seconds after she viewed them.
Under questioning by special prosecutor, Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ryan Mehaffey, both Smith and O’Bier said the group met to get an update on the status of the VSP investigation since Fisher had been placed on paid administrative leave in February 2025. They both testified that while waiting for Self to arrive, Fisher told them that he had placed his hand inside the victim’s pants, touching her genitals and stopped when she asked him to. Both also testified that Fisher changed his story when Self arrived, saying he put his hand on her stomach, just inside her waistband and stopped when she asked him to.
Mehaffey pointed out that both Smith and O’Bier testified they had “no doubts” about what Fisher had told them in the meeting and “no doubts” about the change in story. “To suggest a conspiracy of command staff—if fabricating a story, you would think they would fabricate a better one.” He further noted the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office was not conducting an investigation, VSP was. “It was not a meeting about investigating a crime, but determining shift coverage.”
VSP Special Agent Sharon Petaway, who was conducting the investigation into the victim’s complaint, testified she received a call from O’Bier saying he had additional information regarding the case, referring to the statements made by Fisher. She asked the officers to provide written statements, which were submitted as evidence to a special grand jury which indicted Fisher in May.
While sexual assault cases are often referred to as he said/she said, Dawson said this situation was “far murkier” than that. The victim, who he characterized as “not credible,” “said what she needed to say after being instructed of the law.” He suggested the victimfiled the complaint out of “guilt and remorse” for the encounter with a married man.
Prior to deliberation, Mehaffey asked jurors to think about the motives. “There is no evidence of motive to fabricate on the part of Commonwealth’s witnesses.” He said the victim’s “prize” for her testimony was “awful treatment and being re-traumatized. It was a good reason to not come forward.” As for O’Bier and other members of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, Mehaffey said it was a “half-baked conspiracy theory. Why would they fabricate and risk their careers in such an elaborate way?” He suggested that Bethany Fisher, though, could be motivated to fabricate in order to protect her husband.
The jury deliberated just over three hours to reach a verdict. Despite the guilty verdict, Judge Harris allowed Fisher to remain out on bond until sentencing on January 8. The charge carries a minimum of five years.
NOTE: This is an edited version of the story that appeared in the Rappahannock Record print edition.The victim’s name has been removed.
