Acquanette Lindsay

Acquanette Lindsay | Federal Service Award
U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Ohio
Dayton, Ohio

Acquanette Lindsay is a Victim Witness Specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Ohio, where she ensures that witnesses are physically and emotionally available to testify. During her first trial, an identity theft fraud scheme, she managed travel and witness arrangements for over 80 witnesses over 2 weeks, most of whom were victims of the fraud. Many had physical infirmities and economic difficulties. She worked long hours during trial to ensure that witnesses/victims were in court at their appointed time, and that their needs were met. 

She assisted with the largest RICO/Murder trial in Ohio’s history in 2016, involving eight separate murders with eight separate families, dozens of violent crime survivors, over 50 civilian witnesses, and dozens of law enforcement and forensic experts called to testify over a 3-month trial. According to former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers, one of the three prosecutors on the team, “Acquanette not only handled the logistics of all of this, she excelled in comforting the victims and their families.” 

Likewise, in the face of overwhelming victim demands, Ms. Lindsay’s resourcefulness was apparent during the 2017 William Apostelos Ponzi Scheme case, which involved over 400 victims with losses exceeding $70 million. To handle the volume of calls and needs, Ms. Lindsay used the Mega Victim Case Assistance Program, a contract service offered to victim-witness offices to help with large pools of victims, and developed an FAQ script for the call center that allowed her to focus on the more involved issues. 

More recently, Ms. Lindsay dropped everything on a Saturday to meet with a 13-year-old victim of sexual abuse who was contemplating suicide; after spending the afternoon and evening with her, buying her dinner, Ms. Lindsay convinced the teen to take advantage of counseling. Ms. Lindsay’s encouragement and listening has made all the difference in the lives of countless crime victims. 

Ms. Lindsay’s passion stems from the trauma that her and her siblings experienced as children and has been redirected into helping other crime victims understand what happened to them as they navigate the legal system. In addition to her work as a Victim Witness Specialist, she has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for two years, and is now serving as a youth mentor for young women in Cincinnati.