A woman who was detained and raped by champion amateur boxer Leroy Fisher has told a judge she suffered constant panic attacks and “lost interest in almost everything” in the wake of the attack.
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Fisher, then aged 21, detained the woman at his Berkeley home for more than nine hours in July 2015.
He became enraged when she tried to leave then grabbed her by the back of her hair and pulled her upstairs, handcuffing her hands tightly behind her back.
She was subjected to painful and degrading sexual acts and held against her will until Fisher departed for work the following morning.
In a written victim impact statement tendered during sentencing proceedings at Wollongong District Court on Thursday, the woman said the assault changed her.
“For a long while after I could almost feel myself struggling to breathe, just like I couldn’t breathe on the night. The physical pain of the assault was unbearable.”
The woman told the court she suffered flashbacks in the months following the assault. She took to to wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants to hide her bruises, and avoided driving near Fisher’s neighbourhood “as I would get that anxious and was having constant panic attacks”.
She said she became unable to sleep through the night, waking in hot sweats.
“I then started only being able to sleep during the day because I felt safe. By sleeping during the day … I shut more people out and became someone I wasn’t, unsociable, scared and quiet.”
Fisher was supported by a large contingent of family members at Thursday’s proceedings. His victim did not attend.
Fisher’s barrister tendered an assortment of character references from supporters including his parents, relatives and one-time Wollongong Citizen of the Year, boxing coach Jimmy Clabour.
“[Mr Clabour] found [Fisher] to be honest, reliable and trustworthy,” the barrister, Mr James, said.
“He noted Mr Fisher had substantial boxing skills and was to participate in Olympic trials in November 2015 for a chance to make the Rio Olympics in 2016 … because of these offences this will never come about.”
The court heard the woman suffered a panic attack mid-way through her ordeal. This prompted Fisher to stop, but he then informed her the sexual assault was to continue, Crown prosecutor Andrew McMaster said.
“The [defence’s] description of the offences belies a lack of insight into the offences …” Mr McMaster said.
“There seems to be in the material provided [by the defence] some superficial reference to remorse and contrition.
“I say superficial because there’s no explanation from the offender in relation to his failure to control his urges to humiliate, degrade and hurt the victim, and no insight from him into why he didn’t control the base urge to use her for his own base sexual satisfaction.”
The matter returns to court for sentencing March 17
