D.A. Seeks Grant for Abuse Prosecutor
Swamped by a dramatic increase in domestic violence cases, the Ventura County district attorney’s office is seeking a $110,000 state grant that would be used to add a sixth prosecutor to handle spousal abuse cases.
The district attorney’s Sexual Assault and Family Protection Unit currently has four prosecutors handling misdemeanor cases and a fifth in charge of felony cases.
The workload for all five attorneys has skyrocketed during the last year, with each prosecutor juggling 30 to 40 cases each at a time, officials said. The Sheriff’s Department reported a 62.8% increase in cases involving physical injuries inflicted on a spouse or partner in 1994.
To enhance its prosecution of spousal abusers, the district attorney’s office wants to apply for a state grant to fund an additional prosecutor, an additional investigator and a victim’s advocate in its family protection unit for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The $110,000 grant would come from the state’s $3.5-million Spousal Abuser Prosecution Program established in 1994, said Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela M. Henke-Dobroth. The grant requires a $22,000 matching contribution, she said.
The county Board of Supervisors will consider the district attorney’s grant application at its meeting today.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
