Bronx D.A.: True Stories from the Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes Unit

Sarena Straus was a prosecutor in the Office of the Bronx District Attorney’s office, one of approximately 400 Assistant District Attorneys working in the midst of an area of America with the highest crime and poverty rates. This book is about her experiences in combating crimes against women and children during a three-year stint with the Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes Unit, mostly prosecuting sex crimes against children. The literal and emotional battles, both won and lost, eventually destroyed her. Ms. Straus began with a burning desire to be part of the safety net, to prosecute criminals who terrorize the most defenseless among us. How and why she finally had to stop is the unusual psychological tale of this book. It is a true-crime memoir; an account and a tribute to the assistant district attorneys and their support staff, the physicians, social workers, crime victim advocates and cops who do what is truly God’s work.