Officials Prepare Appleton Residents For Release Of Man Who Raped, Murdered 6-Year-Old

Police and prison officials are doing their best to prepare residents of an Appleton neighborhood for the release of a man convicted of the 1988 rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl.

Vince Fisher has spent the last 26 years in prison for assaulting and killing the daughter of his girlfriend. The 66-year-old man will soon be living in temporary housing in Appleton.

Tom Smith, a spokesman for the state’s sex offender registry, is stressing to Fisher’s future neighbors that Fisher’s victim knew and trusted him.

“The myth of stranger danger really is a myth … 93 percent of victims know who the perpetrator is,” he said.

Smith said that more than a third of sex crimes are committed by members of the victim’s household.

Smith also assured parents that Fisher will be on a GPS monitoring device and confined to his apartment during the hours when children walk to and from school.