XENIA — The Greene County Consortium on Domestic and Sexual Violence recognized a group of people Wednesday who helped bring violent offenders to justice.
The consortium — a partnership between the Family Violence Protection Center, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office — held its Law Enforcement Excellence in Service Awards, highlighting the work done by police officers, detectives, communications operators and half a dozen community members.
“Domestic and sexual violence continues to be a widespread problem,” said FVPC Executive Director Debbie Matheson. “Domestic Violence calls continue to be one of the most dangerous calls to which officers respond. This work takes a special kind of officer to continually demonstrate compassion, to empower victims, and continue to make a difference. These officers have continued to display passion and dedication in assisting victims of domestic violence.”
Xenia police officers Dan Smith and Jordan Robinson were recognized for their handling of a protection order complaint that included a firearm. While the person whom the protection order was against ended up committing suicide, Matheson said it was her belief that their actions stopped it from being a murder-suicide.
Greene County Sheriff’s Sgt. Beth Prall was honored for how she handled a domestic violence case where a child was taken by his mother’s boyfriend. The mother did not want to cooperate with law enforcement. Prall spoke with the mother personally, created a rapport, and eventually obtained enough information to warrant filing felony charges.
“It’s sad that we have to deal with these cases,” Prall said. “(But) if it makes a difference it’s worth everything we go through.”
Xenia police detective Brian Atkins was commended for a 2021 sexual abuse case where an eight-year-old boy was abused by his former babysitter. After the suspect refused to answer and return calls, Atkins went to his place of work and eventually got a full confession.
Fairborn detective Alan Kraker was recognized for multiple felony domestic violence cases in 2020 that all ended with guilty verdicts.
“We believe that Alan Kraker deserves to be honored for his many years of service as a police officer and detective, as he approaches retirement from the law enforcement field,” Matheson said.
Xenia Greene Central Communications Center operator Lindsey Barrera was honored for six years of excellence in handling a wide variety of emergency calls relating to domestic violence.
Finally, Xenia residents Pam Stewart, Dr. Jon Dixon, Terrie Burd, Diane Adkins, Becky Rubin, and Pat Banks were recognized for opening their homes to victims and police during a murder-suicide.
