Ex-Compton school board member found guilty of sexual assault

A former Compton school board member was convicted Thursday of sexually assaulting an unconscious 25-year-old man during a trip to San Diego two years ago, authorities said.

The jury deliberated for 30 minutes before finding Skyy De’Anthony Fisher, 32, guilty of one felony count of committing oral copulation on an unconscious or sleeping person, according to Tanya Sierra, public affairs officer with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.

Fisher, who had been out on $100,000 bail, was taken into custody after the verdict was read.

“He was stunned, as we all were,” said Fisher’s defense attorney, MaryEtta Marks. “It was so fast.”

Marks said she plans to file a motion for a retrial on grounds that Fisher’s constitutional rights were violated when the victim secretly recorded Fisher confessing to the crime.

The incident occurred during a road trip to San Diego in 2014. Fisher and a male friend agreed to share a room. Each had a separate bed, but the victim said that when he woke up, he found Fisher sexually assaulting him, according to the warrant.

Fisher pretended to be asleep when the victim confronted him. The two men argued, and the victim punched Fisher in his face.

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The victim reported the incident, and a DNA sample was collected. Later that month, the victim returned to the Police Department to identify Fisher by photo as his attacker.

While the victim was with police, Fisher called him, and the call was recorded. Fisher “admitted to [the victim] he didn’t know why he orally copulated him,” according to the warrant.

A search warrant was issued to collect a DNA sample from Fisher. It was confirmed a few weeks later that the DNA collected on the victim matched Fisher’s, according to court documents.

In July 2014, U.S. Marshals arrested Fisher at his job in downtown Los Angeles. He was booked at Vista Detention Center in San Diego County.

In the four years that Fisher served on the Compton Unified School Board of Trustees, he had been a controversial figure. City leaders and residents called for his resignation after he used a homophobic slur in a 2012 podcast to refer to Trayvon Martin, the black teen who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a white neighborhood watch volunteer, in Sanford, Fla.

He issued an apology and said he would take a 60-day leave of absence to address “a range of personal and health-related issues,” according to a statement posted on the Compton Unified School District’s website.

However, he returned to his seat on the school board a few weeks after the incident.

After Fisher was arrested in San Diego, community leaders again called for him to step down from his elected position. He refused and served on the school board until last month. He lost his bid for re-election in November.

Fisher faces up to eight years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 29.

For more California breaking news, follow @AngelJennings. She can also be reached at angel.jennings@latimes.com.

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