Porter County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Gensel has announced that he is seeking re-election.

Gensel was first elected to the position in 2006 after serving as Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney since 1994. He joined the office in 1988 as a juvenile prosecutor and then spent 13 years as a felony prosecutor.

“I believe my long and varied experience as a prosecutor, coupled with the relationships I have cultivated with all the Porter County law enforcement and social service agencies makes me uniquely qualified to be the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney,” Gensel said in a statement released today. “I have a passion for bringing criminals to justice and a strong desire to build partnerships with all the agencies involved in the criminal justice system so that we can maintain the quality of life that Porter County residents deserve.”

Gensel said that he is proud of his first-term accomplishments, including securing $250,000 in 2008 and 2009 from the Porter County Council to expand the Drug Task Force by doubling the number of undercover agents in the unit. The multi-jurisdictional task force, headed by Gensel, focuses on the investigation of heroin and cocaine dealing. Using moneys from drug forfeiture funds, Gensel also brought the WeTip crime reporting hotline to Porter County.

Gensel has also supported the New Sights Child Advocacy Center and the recently opened Harold Kelley Respite Men’s Recovery Center, the statement said, and in both 2008 and 2009 the office’s IV-D Child Support Division received statewide commendations for its collective efforts. And the office “has provided training to hundreds of Porter County law enforcement personnel in the investigation of domestic violence and sexual assault.”

Gensel has made numerous presentations to community groups about identity theft, crimes against children and the elderly, home improvement fraud, and Internet Safety.

He is an adjunct professor of law at Valparaiso University, teaching trial advocacy, and coaches the Valparaiso High School mock trial team, and serves as an instructor at the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

An elder at Calvary Church of Valparaiso, he lives with his wife and two sons in Union Township.

Posted 1/20/2010