Today, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, Jr. was sworn in for his ninth term of office. Mr. Heck’s wife, the Honorable Cynthia M. Heck, Judge of the Vandalia Municipal Court, administered the Oath of Office. Following his swearing in, Mr. Heck administered the Oath of Office to his entire staff.
Prosecutor Heck reflected on his many years as the elected prosecutor, having been sworn in for the first time in August 1992. He noted that about half of his staff were hired during his most recent four-year term.
Mr. Heck noted that the past four years saw some significant changes, such as using Zoom to conduct business during the pandemic and gaining the ability to work from home. Since the end of the Covid-era restrictions, his office has moved to a business casual dress code and allows many of his staff to work from home one day per week.
Prosecutor Heck outlined some of the accomplishments his office has made over the past four years. The Criminal Division of the Prosecutor’s Office reviewed over 23,500 filings from law enforcement seeking charges. The Criminal Division also had more than 150 jury trials and over 70 bench trials. For all cases resolved over the past four years, the office has a conviction rate of 95% to the highest degree charged.
The Juvenile Division of the office reviewed over 6,300 new cases since 2021.
The Appellate Division files approximately 100 briefs in the Court of Appeals each year.
The Child Abuse Bureau at CARE House reviewed 418 filings over the past four years, most of which involved physical or sexual abuse and neglect of children. The Child Protection Unit had over 2,400 new cases involving in excess of 4,000 children, and the attorneys in that unit attended over 15,000 hearings.
The Criminal Non-Support Unit collected over a half-million dollars in child support payments, bringing the total since the unit was established in 2000 to well over $14,000,000 provided for the support of children. The Consumer Fraud Unit opened 155 new investigation cases and recovered over $1,100,000 in money taken from victims. The Diversion Division reviewed over 1,600 cases and accepted more than 700 new clients, recovering restitution for victims and allowing first-time, non-violent defendants the chance to avoid having a conviction on their record, and becoming responsible citizens.
The Civil Division initiated and oversaw several Opioid lawsuits, resulting in millions of dollars being recovered from opioid manufacturers and retailers for their role in the proliferation of those drugs. The DTAC Unit filed over 1,000 property tax foreclosures, resulting in the collection of over $7,000,000 from the sales.
The Grand Jury/Intake section of the office was very busy, with the Grand Jury hearing nearly 14,300 cases in just the past four years. The Victim/Witness Division added more than 5,300 new cases, providing much-needed assistance to victims of violent crimes. In December 2024, the 34th annual Homicide Victim Memorial Service was held.
Prosecutor Heck said, “Today, we renew our steadfast commitment to justice, public safety, and the victims of crime and their families. I am extremely proud of what my office does for the citizens of Montgomery County. I believe we have the best staff in the state of Ohio. If we work together, support each other and never forget why we chose to serve the public, then great things are going to happen.”
Prosecutor Heck was first elected to office in 1992 and was re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024.
