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State Attorney William Scheiner has launched Special Victims Units (SVUs) in Brevard and Seminole counties to better support vulnerable crime victims while pursuing justice for them in court.
These teams of veteran prosecutors and victim advocates will specialize in cases involving sexual abuse, domestic violence and child abuse — crimes that inflict profound trauma on victims and families. The SVUs will improve outcomes by building expert criminal cases while minimizing stress on victims, Scheiner said.
“For the vast majority of crime victims, their first exposure to law enforcement, the court system and prosecutors is not something they asked for, it’s something they’re thrust into,” Scheiner said. “I made a promise to myself and everybody else that I would continue to advocate for victims and make sure they have any services they need to feel safe in the judicial environment.”
Special Victims Units can streamline case management, allowing prosecutors to focus on strengthening evidence and understanding emerging trends such as online stalking, grooming and exploitation. The units also foster collaboration with police agencies, some of which have their own SVUs, as well as social services for women and children to keep them secure during prosecution and after.
Scheiner, who took office in January, established the SVUs with existing resources by refocusing existing staff and public funding.
Both units will be headed by veteran prosecutors who most recently specialized in child- and sex-abuse cases: Julia Lynch in Brevard County and Martine McCarthy in Seminole County. The teams also will include veteran domestic-abuse prosecutors and experienced victim advocates.
Lynch said the teams can build on the State Attorney’s Office’s strength in victim advocacy to help women and children escape cycles of domestic or sexual abuse and start to heal.
“The goal is, it doesn’t happen again,” Lynch said. “Domestic violence can also have a horrible, abusive impact on children. When we see repeat cases, we can take a deeper look at how we stop their problems and stop relying on law enforcement to deal with them.”
Seminole County SVU Chief McCarthy said child and sexual abuse cases require a certain outlook from assistant state attorneys.
“It can be difficult to hear about the terrible things people do – it’s hard to believe people can be so cruel,” McCarthy said. “But the cases can be more rewarding when you get a positive outcome. The work makes it safer for our families, our friends, everybody.”
Scheiner’s outlook was shaped by his own experiences as a crime victim. He was robbed and shot while working at a Titusville restaurant during college and learned to navigate the justice system afterward with the help of the prosecutor and victim advocate assigned to his case. In turn, supporting other crime victims became a mission for Scheiner throughout his own career as a prosecutor.
The goal with the SVUs, Scheiner said, is for victims and their family members “to feel heard, safe, and comfortable in this process – and know they’re not alone.”
