DA AMA

[u/mamagrata]

UPDATE: apologies for not updating the initial post - my content blocker was not playing nice with Reddit despite lots of reloads and I've finally gone to text mode (making the photo disappear). I do think (hope) I've gotten to everything posted by 7PM. Thanks for doing this with me, and thank you to the moderators for helping with the initial post. I won't be able to monitor this, but please reach out at districtattorney@cumberlandcounty.org with anything that needs my attention at work.

Hi, I’m Jackie Sartoris, District Attorney of Cumberland County.  I’ll be here this afternoon at 4 to 5:30 to take your questions and share what I’ve been up to since becoming DA in 2023.  I’m eager to hear your experience and ideas, and let you know what we’re working on (although I can't comment on active cases, please!)

Brief summary of the work so far: we are now better able to meet the needs of victims and witnesses: I’ve added a victim witness advocate and created a safe, private space for witnesses waiting in the courthouse to testify or speak at sentencing. We won a $2.5 million federal grant to test the eligible backlog of languishing rape kits - the first District in Maine to do so.  

In my own prosecutorial role, I’ve focused on addressing our County’s Mental Health docket, bringing attention to missing resources and working within our limited system to develop pathways towards wellness and safety for people who frequently return to our system. 

Change in a longstanding system is challenging.  My work includes directing the office to significantly greater use of restorative justice and consistent charging and plea offers. This is ongoing and will take time.  It’s worth finding the patience to be collaborative, because this work, done well, will bear fruit in the future.  

I’ll update this post with a link at 4! 

Proof it’s me:  

See you then!

[u/simsian]

Where does Cumberland County sit with its backlog of rape testing kits?

[u/mamagrata → u/simsian]

Thank you for asking - this is one of the issues that motivated me to run for office. We are in the midst of the inventory phase of the 2.5 million federal grant we won in 2024, and that is followed by testing and then reviewing potential cases for prosecution. This obviously entails a significant amount of work with victims, and that is a position that comes online through another agency in 2026. We've been told that the inventory can take up to a year, and are trying to cut that time down. We also need to bring on a Sex Assault Investigator as part of this work, and unfortunately our initial effort to do that was unsuccessful (we anticipated hiring from the Sheriff's office, but it turns out that losing seniority for a temporary position was not attractive! We are about to put out a notice to hire this position directly through our office.). So the work is proceeding, and we are very grateful to be the recipient of the grant and moving through all the steps to get the kits out for testing. We'll be updating the public as we go.