Miyares Honors Victims’ Advocates, Commemorates National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

Attorney General Jason Miyares honored eight people for their service to crime victims in the fifth annual Unsung Heroes Award Ceremony on Tuesday. The ceremony was one of several stops Miyares is making this week in a tour commemorating National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

Miyares said a business owner once told him, “It’s really easy to wash away graffiti. It’s really hard to wash away fear.”

He said that law enforcement officers are often the first to help wash away fear, and said they carry the burden of the things they deal with even when off duty.

“I say it’s the hardest job in America today,” he said.

Honorees include Loudoun County Humane Chief Law Enforcement Officer Chris Brosan, Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office Detective Kristel DiGravio, Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Aaron Hurd, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Jennifer Knowlton, Virginia Department of Corrections Victim Services Director Amber Leake, Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter volunteer Alison Barnett Moye, Montgomery County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Coordinator Sabrina Porter, and Wythe County Sheriff ‘s Office Victim Witness Program Director Lieutenant Harold Street, III.

“While the circumstances that brought the unsung heroes together were tragic, I am inspired by their resilience and determination to make a difference in the face of daunting adversity. These heroes are men and women who have witnessed unspeakable horrors, yet they wake up every day and go back to work because they know there are victims who need their help. They are the faces of heroism and hope in Virginia,” Miyares said in a press release… (Excerpt from The Virginia Star)