Assistant Attorney General Theresa Hilton has been tapped to temporarily lead the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Hilton will assumed the position of acting Mercer County prosecutor as current Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri retired Aug. 1.
“Angelo Onofri has been a tremendous county prosecutor and an invaluable partner in cooperative efforts to reduce gun violence, combat human trafficking, and address the opioid epidemic,” New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said.
“He is an esteemed public servant and a friend, and I congratulate him on his retirement and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Onofri has served as Mercer County’s chief law enforcement officer for nine years and has spent 27 years in the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Platkin announced last week that he appointed Hilton, who serves as a deputy director for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, to acting prosecutor until a permanent Mercer County prosecutor is nominated by Gov. Phil Murphy and confirmed by the Senate in the New Jersey State Legislature.
“I’m honored that the attorney general has chosen me to temporarily lead the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and grateful for his support,” Hilton said. “I look forward to working with the office’s investigators and prosecutors, as well as local police chiefs and officers, to protect the community and pursue justice across our Capital County.”
Hilton is a veteran litigator with extensive experience prosecuting domestic violence and sex assault crimes. In 2022, she began serving in the Division of Criminal Justice to oversee sexual and domestic violence prevention policy and criminal enforcement work, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office (NJAGO).
She was the inaugural leader of the Human Trafficking Unit, which Platkin created in January 2023. She oversaw all major threats on top of her violence prevention policy portfolio as a deputy director.
Before the NJAGO, Hilton also served as an assistant prosecutor for seven years with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. There she led the domestic violence unit and is credited with revamping policies to remove barriers to justice.
Additionally, Hilton has previously served as an assistant staff judge advocate in the United States Air Force from 2009 to 2015.
Onofri, who is being succeeded temporarily by Hilton, first began serving as Mercer County’s chief law enforcement officer in 2015 as the acting prosecutor. Gov. Chris Christie went on to appoint Onofri who was then confirmed by the Senate.
In December 2016, he was officially sworn-in as Mercer County prosecutor and had led the office since then. County prosecutors have five-year terms.
