A new team in the Gwinnett County Solicitor General’s Office, which is the second largest in the state of Georgia, is working to better protect victims of so-called Romeo-and-Juliet relationships and other sensitive misdemeanor crimes. (Pixabay)
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A new team in the Gwinnett County Solicitor General’s Office, which is the second largest in the state of Georgia, is working to better protect victims of so-called Romeo-and-Juliet relationships and other sensitive misdemeanor crimes.
Gwinnett Solicitor General Lisamarie Bristol said during a virtual interview that after taking office in 2023, she noticed in her staff’s caseload that sex-related crimes between 13- and 18-year-olds needed more attention.
“Those cases can be really delicate,” she said. “They can require a little extra sensitivity, time [and] resources.”
The new special victims unit in the Gwinnett County Solicitor General’s Office is comprised of assistant solicitor generals, investigators, victim advocates and trial assistants. (Courtesy of Gwinnett County Solicitor General’s Office)
Georgia has recently started putting more emphasis on fighting crimes involving teens, so Bristol’s office created the special victims unit, comprised of assistant solicitor generals, investigators, victim advocates and trial assistants to be able to carefully and quickly resolve those cases. At its full capacity, there will be eight people on the team.
“Beforehand, all cases got attention, all cases were well-handled, but now I’m able to put these cases that are affecting our most vulnerable into the hands of a team that is especially fine-tuned to be victim-centered,” Bristol said.
The SVU focuses on sex-related offenses that are prosecuted in state court, like stalking, prostitution and pandering. It also extends to vehicular homicides and animal cruelty. So when a case reaches them, someone on the team is supposed to guide victims through the process and make sure they have the resources that they need, whether that’s counseling, therapy or restitution services.
Bristol estimates that of the 15,000 cases her office is on track to handle, the SVU will handle about 3,000 in its first year.
“Just last week, we were able to close out a very sensitive and hard vehicular homicide case,” Bristol said. “Those are always very difficult cases, because somebody has lost their life and it’s at the hands of a true accident… But I think the family really came away feeling respected and heard and that the process actually worked for them even though it wasn’t perfect. And that’s something I’m really proud of for my team.”
The county’s district attorney’s office has its own SVU that handles felony crimes in superior court.
