Porter County
Prosecuting Attorney Brian Gensel has announced that he is seeking a third
term as Porter County Prosecuting Attorney.
Gensel said in a
statment Thursday that he is in his 26th year with the Porter County
Prosecutor’s Office and was first elected to the position of Prosecutor 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 Porter County law enforcement, Federal law enforcement
and social service agencies makes me uniquely qualified to be the Porter
County Prosecuting Attorney. 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,” said Gensel.
Gensel said that he
is proud of the accomplishments in his first and second terms, including
securing $250,000 per year from the Porter County Council beginning in 2008
to expand the Porter County Drug Task Force by doubling the number of
undercover agents in the unit.
In a further effort
to fight drug crime, Gensel also brought the anonymous WeTip crime reporting
hotline to Porter County for use by all law enforcement agencies.
The Porter County
Prosecutor IV-D Child Support Enforcement Office is perennially one of the
most efficient collectors of unpaid child support in the State of Indiana
collecting nearly $13 million dollars in 2013.
Most recently,
during the fall of 2013, Gensel added full-time Comfort Dog “Tony” to the
staff to aid and assist child victims of assault and abuse.
Gensel has also
supported the Harold Kelley Respite Men’s Recovery Center, along with
supporting and staffing the Porter County Drug Court and Veteran’s Court.
The Prosecutor’s Domestic Violence Unit was recently recognized by the
United States Congress for its contributions in the fight against domestic
violence and has provided training to hundreds of Porter County law
enforcement personnel in the investigation of domestic violence and sexual
assault.
He is an adjunct
professor of law at Valparaiso University, teaching trial advocacy, coaches
the Valparaiso High School mock trial team, and serves as an instructor at
the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
Gensel lives with
his wife and two sons in Union Township.