About Jonathan W. Blodgett
JONATHAN W. BLODGETT
ESSEX DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett was elected to his first term in November of 2002, and took the oath of office on January 1, 2003.
 |
A month before taking office, he filed legislation to increase the penalty for domestic batterers, which would give prosecutors the option of seeking up to five years in state prison for certain offenders. Governor Deval Patrick signed this legislation into law on January 15, 2009.
One of his first acts as District Attorney was to establish the Family Crimes and Sexual Assault Unit to implement prevention strategies and vigorously prosecute those types of cases. His office has established and participates in domestic violence reountables and high risk assessment teams throughout the county in an effort to raise awareness, enhance victim safety and hold batterers accountable. Recognizing his commitment to this issue, in 2007, Governor Deval Patrick appointed District Attorney Blodgett to the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence.
He also introduced his Community Awareness and Prevention Team (CAPT), in which team members work closely with community leaders to promote crime prevention through awareness and education.
Each spring, the District Attorney hosts a school safety conference in partnership with local schools and law enforcement. The conferences address such topics as bullying, threat assessment, and emergency planning and feature nationally known experts.
District Attorney Blodgett has aggressively addressed the issue of underage drinking. In partnership with Attorney Richard Campbell, he has made numerous presentations on the social host liability law for schools to educate parents on the legal consequences of allowing minors to drink alcohol on their property. His staff has developed a program, "Underage Drinking: Not Everyone Is Doing It ", which is a series of presentations for Middle School and High School students and their parents on the physical, legal, and social consequences of underage drinking.
District Attorney Blodgett has been a leader in confronting the heroin epidemic gripping the Northeast, both through prosecution and educational partnerships with schools, police, and community leaders. His “Choose to Refuse: A Heroin and OxyContin Prevention Education Program,” won an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Executive Office of Public Safety, one of only four presented statewide in 2006.
In recognition for his aggressive prosecution of auto insurance fraud in Lawrence, he received the “Fraud Fighter of the Year,” award in 2004, from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
 |
In 2005 Governor Mitt Romney appointed District Attorney Blodgett to serve on the state’s Victim Witness and Assistance Board. In 2006, District Attorney Blodgett served as President of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association. In 2008, he and Attorney General Martha Coakley co-chaired the Governor's Anti-Crime Council's urban violence committee. He currently sits on the Board of the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance.
Prior to taking office, District Attorney Blodgett spent 15 years in private practice as a partner in a Peabody law firm, and prior to that worked as an assistant district attorney in Essex County.
For many years District Attorney Blodgett has been very active in civic affairs and youth sports in his hometown of Peabody. He has served as Chairman of the Peabody Park Commission, served on the Peabody Planning Board for 13 years, part of that time as vice chairman, and served as Chairman of the Peabody School Building Committee. A member of both the Peabody High School Distinguished Career, and Athletic Hall of Fame, he received the Pride of Peabody Award from his hometown in 2004.
District Attorney Blodgett is a 1976 graduate of Princeton University and earned his law degree from Suffolk University in 1983.
District Attorney Blodgett lives in Peabody with his wife, Judy. They have three children, Jon, Ryan and Lauren.