Hillsborough County loses two of its Special Victims Unit prosecutors

Mark Hayward, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·2 min read

Oct. 19—The prosecutor who headed up the Special Victims Unit in the Manchester office of Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin has quit and taken a job in neighboring Merrimack County.

The last day for Assistant County Attorney Shaylen Roberts was Friday, said Shawn Sweeney, the first-assistant who oversees the Manchester branch of Coughlin's office.

The six prosecutors in the SVU handle cases of sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence. Roberts took over supervision of the unit last December.

"This is a significant setback to the unit," Sweeney said. He noted that Katelyn Brown, who served as co-counsel with Roberts in difficult cases, left in September for a job with the Rockingham County Attorney.

Roberts took a job with the Merrimack County Attorney. Both counties paid more than Hillsborough County, he said.

A former social worker in Bronx County, New York, Roberts started as an intern at the Hillsborough County Attorney Office in 2017 and joined the office in 2018.

She said she gained invaluable experience at Hillsborough County, and the office will remain near and dear to her heart.

"The caseloads are high and it's stressful, and as a young attorney I wanted experience in other courts with other attorneys and other judges," she said.

Other factors include a pay increase and an ability to broaden the type of crimes she prosecutes, Roberts said. The anguish of sexual assault and domestic violence can contribute to burnout, she said.

Brown said the nature of Manchester meant that cases kept coming.

"That office has a lot of cases. We just got a lot of pressure from all over the place to do the best job we can do, and at times it didn't seem possible," Brown said.

Sweeney said Coughlin has not named a successor for Roberts.

"We've been recruiting for experienced sexual assault prosecutors for the last year. They are rare and very valuable," he said. Sweeney said the office has vacancies for five prosecutors between its Manchester and Nashua locations.

Sweeney, Roberts and Brown credited Coughlin for working hard to address the high caseloads. But they remain high, and Roberts said turnover can lead to burnout also.

Sweeney said issues with caseloads are tied to pay.

"As workload increases, you expect to be paid more," he said.

"We certainly are undertaking every effort to become competitive with the salaries of the other county attorney offices with regards to our best and most experienced prosecutors," Sweeney said.