Attorney appointed as deputy prosecutor

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GREENFIELD — The Hancock County Prosecutor’s Office is celebrating the appointment of a new deputy prosecutor dedicated to handling crimes against women and children — a replacement the office’s leaders hope will shed a positive light on a position wrought by trouble in recent months.

Deputy Prosecutor Cathy Wilson joined the office earlier this month, stepping into the grant-funded post tasked with prosecuting domestic violence and sexual crimes against women and children older than 11. She replaces Georgeanna Teipen, who was fired by Prosecutor Brent Eaton in September days before she’d planned to resign amid allegations she mishandled a rape case.

Wilson of Noblesville comes to Hancock County with 12 years’ experience working as a prosecuting attorney.

She obtained her undergraduate degree from Indiana University in Bloomington before attending Valparaiso University’s law school.

For the last eight years, she has worked for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, where deputy prosecutors are typically assigned areas of focus, which helps them develop an expertise in a certain area of law, she said.

For six years of her time in Marion County, Wilson’s workload consisted solely of cases involving allegations of domestic violence, she said. Though it’s a tough area in which to work, Wilson said she’s always felt it was an area where she could make a difference in others’ lives — “so, it’s rewarding in that capacity,” she said.

Wilson’s position handles an estimated 200 criminal cases in Hancock County annually, officials said. The local prosecutor’s office filed about 50 domestic battery cases and more than 70 sexual assault cases in 2015; that’s compared to about 40 domestic battery cases and 30 sexual assault cases in 2014, according to statistics provided by the prosecutor’s office.

Funding for the position is provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s STOP Violence Against Women program, which provides annual grants.

The justice institute gave the prosecutor’s office about $100,000, with the county promising to put up a $25,000 match. The funds cover the position’s salary and job benefits for one year, at which point the county can apply to renew the grant.

But Wilson’s appointment comes amid controversy.

Her predecessor was with the office less than a year; Teipen was accused of mishandling a rape case and fired shortly after the allegations arose.

Teipen was removed from the case after the victim expressed concerns to Eaton about the plea deal Teipen had offered the man accused of rape, saying she felt the sentence it outlined was too lenient. The woman told Eaton said she had made those concerns clear to Teipen, and Teipen ignored her.

But Eaton said he’s not concerned about such an issue happening again.

Eaton campaigned for prosecutor on the promise to provide better care for victims. He said Wilson was made aware of the situation that led up to her predecessor’s dismissal, and he stressed his expectations that attorneys should have positive relationships with all victims.

Wilson said she always tries work toward a resolution that is in the best interest of the victim.

Though her caseload will be similar to the one she juggled in Marion County because there are fewer courts (three in Hancock County compared with more than five in Marion County) to manage, she’ll be able to take the “appropriate time to handle these cases,” she said.

Handling more sexual assault cases will be a new venture for Wilson, she said, but that area of the law often runs parallel to domestic crimes, and she’s eager to take on the new challenge.

“… Having an open line of communication (with a victim) is the key,” she said. “… If they don’t know where else to go or what to ask, I can certainly help with pointing them in the right direction.”

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Deputy Prosecutor Cathy Wilson joined the Hancock County Prosecutor’s office this month, stepping into the grant-funded post tasked with prosecuting domestic violence and sexual crimes against women and children older than 11.

Wilson’s position handles an estimated 200 criminal cases in Hancock County annually, officials said. The local prosecutor’s office filed about 50 domestic battery cases and more than 70 sexual assault cases in 2015; that’s compared to about 40 domestic battery cases and 30 sexual assault cases in 2014, according to statistics provided by the prosecutor’s office.

Funding for the position is provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s STOP Violence Against Women program, which provides annual grants.

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