Update: PA jury finds Laneer Fisher guilty

We first reported on Dr. Laneer Fisher in October 2010 after news reports surfaced about his arrest. Although proclaiming his innocence, Fisher, pastor of the Miracle COGIC in Aliquippa, PA failed to convince a jury that he was innocent of charges that he molested two teenage boys in his congregation. Fisher was arrested in August 2010 and charged with indecent exposure, aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault and corruption of minors [source]. After nearly seven hours of deliberations, a jury of six men and six women found the pastor of an Aliquippa church guilty of having unlawful contact with a teenage boy in his congregation. Just after 11 p.m. Friday, the jury reached its verdict and announced they found the Rev. Laneer Fisher, 39, of 205 Centerdale Road, Moon Township, guilty of indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a minor. “The jury got it right,” Assistant District Attorney Justin Quinn said after the verdict. “The jury saw what we saw. We believed him (the victim) all along.” sher took the stand in his own defense Friday morning and denied all of the allegations made by the victim, who testified Thursday that Fisher kissed him and rubbed his torso underneath his shirt. Fisher told a jury he never kissed the victim, asked him to sit on his lap or touched him inappropriately. The Times is not naming the victim because of the nature of the charges. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” Fisher told the jury. Fisher, who is the senior pastor of the Miracle Church of God in Christ, said he had a spiritual and father-figure type of relationship with several teenage boys in the church, including the victim. Fisher, who became the senior pastor in 2004, said he did have many conversations with the victim, some of which were emotional, and whether the door to his office was closed or locked depended on the nature of the conversation. Unfortunately for Fisher this trial isnt the end of the consequences of his actions. The victim’s attorney told the jury there was once the conviction of an innocent man, and they put him on the cross. He called it the “worst travesty of justice in history. Let’s not have a false conviction,” he said. Quinn told the jury it wasn’t unreasonable to think it would take the victim a long time to tell someone considering that Fisher was the head of the church. “Is a 15-year-old going to come forward right away and accuse the pastor,” he asked. Quinn said the victim came forward after his mother had resigned from the church. “It only came to light when [the victim] was removed from his (the pastor’s) obsession, his possession,” Quinn said. Quinn asked the jury to consider the pastor has motivation to lie because he has a whole congregation that looks up to him. He then asked the jury to consider what motivation the victim would have to lie. He said the victim was missing his first week of college and putting himself in front of the public to testify about an embarrassing situation. Fisher has a second case pending against him set to go to trial in October. He was charged by Beaver Falls police with indecent assault, indecent exposure, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor. In that case, police said Fisher is also accused of having illegal contact with a teenage boy nearly 10 years ago

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