Leonard Fisherman sentenced to time served for sex crime

Leonard James Fisherman, 27, was sentenced Monday to 25 months in prison for felony soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct.

However, he has already served the time.

He pleaded guilty to the felony March 10 before Beltrami County District Judge Shari Schluchter.

On Feb. 2, 2006, a Bemidji police detective received a report from a Green Bay, Wis., police detective. The detective had been contacted by a Brown County, Wis., Department of Human Services agent, who was working with a 14-year-old girl. The girl had given birth to a baby and had informed authorities that the father of her child was Fisherman.

She said she told Fisherman her age and he was aware of it throughout their relationship.

The detectives secured a search warrant for DNA samples from Fisherman. Fisherman was then an inmate in the Beltrami County Jail. Fisherman's DNA sample, as well as samples taken from the girl and her child, were submitted to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Forensic Science Laboratory on Feb. 7, 2006. On July 20, 2006, a certificate of analysis of the DNA samples was received from the lab. The analysis indicated that there was a 99.99997 percent likelihood that Fisherman was the father of the girl's baby.