Rensselaer man sentenced for rape, murder of three-year-old

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Rensselaer County District Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday that Robert Fisher, 34, of Rensselaer, has been sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison for raping and murdering a child back in 2023. Fisher pleaded guilty in July.

As part of his guilty plea, Fisher admitted to drugging, sexually assaulting and killing 3-year-old Josefina "Josie" Cunningham while he was babysitting the child at her home in Rensselaer. He was indicted on second-degree murder and first-degree rape charges in July of 2023.

"Josie's killer was an acquaintance of her mother, and Josie had been left in his care. Josie died
from an act of homicidal violence as a result of a sexual assault and acute intoxication by the combined effect of alprazolam and olanzapine," said District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly. "The city of Rensselaer is a small community. Everybody cares for each other, and they've supported each other through this horrific tragedy, which no one is going to soon forget."

Donnelly said based on his crimes, there could be more victims of Fisher.

“I also implore the community and anyone who has had interaction with Robert Fisher to examine the possibility that he may have been involved in other crimes,” said Donnelly.

Mary Ann Moses said she’s known the Fisher family for decades and offered him a temporary place to live when he got paroled in 2021 after serving time for attempted burglary.

“I gave him the opportunity to live with me and my family, with the hope that he was on the right path. I was unaware of many things,” said Moses.

She claims she caught Fisher cornering a child in her home. She said she immediately called authorities and he was removed from her home that day.

“I spoke with the sheriff's office in Schoharie about the issues that I had with him when he was in my home,” said Moses.

NEWS10 contacted the Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office and they said Fisher has “no records on file indicating criminal allegations”. Moses echoed Donnelly’s call for people to come forward.

“It wasn’t until right before he left that it occurred to me that this was an unsafe situation for my own children. And these women, I’m sure they're out there, and I hope they come forward if they realize they had this man around their children too and it could’ve been one of their kids just as easily,” said Moses.