NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) — The former Rhode Island anesthesiologist who spent more than 20 years on the run to avoid being prosecuted on sexual assault charges has been hit with a lawsuit.
Ronald Fischer, 70, was taken into custody on July 16 after his boat was spotted about an hour off the coast of New Jersey. The East Greenwich man vanished without a trace back in 2005 while on trial for first-degree sexual assault.
Investigators learned of Fischer’s whereabouts from an online sleuth earlier this month. That tip sent them to New York, where Fischer was believed to be operating a 56-foot sailboat registered under his alias Richard Graydon.
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Fischer, who’s been described as a master yachtsman and well-connected world traveler, was found guilty despite his absence after prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he sexually assaulted a Westerly woman aboard his yacht in April 2003 while it was docked at a Portsmouth marina…