Criminal Investigators
Karen M. Sweet
Lead Investigator Karen M. Sweet joined the staff of the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office in February of 2005.
Officer Sweet is a graduate of Kent State University and the Cleveland Heights Police Academy and has over thirty years of experience. She has worked in all aspects of law enforcement including working road patrol, being a detective and senior special agent, investigating financial fraud cases as well as large scale drug trafficking and homicide cases.
Officer Sweet also had the privilege of being accepted to the FBI National Academy in Quantico Virginia in the spring of 2015. She spent ten weeks at the Academy doing physical challenges and daily physical training. She also enrolled in several graduate classes in law enforcement through the FBI Academy earning a considerable number of credits towards her Master’s Degree from the University of Virginia. She made life- long friends and many professional contacts from this experience.
Scott M. Christopher
Investigator Scott M. Christopher joined the Prosecutor’s Office in March of 2016.
Officer Christopher has over 25 years’ experience and began his law enforcement career in 1986 in the U.S. Air Force. He previously served with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and the Tallmadge Police Department as a patrol officer, juvenile detective, detective sergeant and patrol sergeant. He has experience in homicide, rape and child abuse investigations. He has hundreds of hours of training and is a 2011 graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College.
As a criminal investigator with the Prosecutor’s Office, he is primarily responsible for child sexual abuse cases and child abuse cases. He is assigned to Geauga County Job and Family Services and works with the assessment team to help deliver services to children as the cases are reported.
Richard Warner
Investigator Richard Warner joined the Prosecutor’s Office in April of 2016.
Officer Warner has over 18 years of law enforcement experience. He previously served with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Waite Hill Police, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Investigator Warner has extensive training and experience in electronic crime investigation. He has specialized in data recovery from electronic devices and cellular phones since 2003.
Officer Warner’s responsibilities with the Prosecutor’s Office include assisting federal, state and local law enforcement in the investigation of crimes involving electronic media; instructing law enforcement in the latest trends in electronic crimes; presenting to schools and the public on internet safety.
If your school or group is in Geauga County, and you would like to have Investigator Warner visit and make a presentation on internet safety, please contact the Prosecutor’s Office at 440-279-2100 to make the necessary arrangements.
Craig Young
Investigator Craig Young joined the Prosecutor’s Office in January of 2018.
Officer Young is a graduate of Mercyhurst University and the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy and has been a certified peace officer in the State of Ohio since 1998. He has a diverse background in law enforcement which includes experience as a Road Patrol Officer, Detective and Crime Scene Investigator. Investigator Young also worked in the private sector where he specialized in conducting investigations specific to Anti-Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.
Investigator Young has over eighteen years of law enforcement experience.
The Prosecutor’s Office has on staff Criminal Investigators who perform a wide variety of duties including:
- They routinely provide on-call assistance to all law enforcement agencies in the county with investigations including, interviews, interrogation, surveillance, preparing affidavits/search warrants, etc.
- They provide daily assistance to the Prosecutor and Assistant Prosecutors by running criminal history checks, generally following up on cases, preparing criminal cases for grand jury, preparing cases for trial.
- They investigate criminal cases that are directly assigned by the Prosecutor
- They serve criminal subpoenas, and subpoenas bank/telephone/cell phone/utility records for criminal cases.
- They conduct surveillance
- They receive crime tips and complaints.
IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO HAS COMMITTED A CRIME OR PLANS TO COMMIT A CRIME
contact your local police department or contact the Prosecutor's Office 440-279-2100