The Hunterdon County Sheriff's Office is the principal law enforcement agency of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. According it the office's 2009 annual report, the most recent available online, there are positions in the agency for about 43 sworn officers.
The current sheriff is Frederick Brown, who was reelected to a second three-year term in 2013. He was preceded by Republican Deborah Trout who served one term starting in November 2007.
The office is headquartered in Flemington, New Jersey.
Misconduct
In January 2008, Hunterdon County Sheriff’s Officer Jeremiah Hupka plead guilty to fourth-degree sexual contact. He admitted he had attacked a drunken woman in 2006. She gave birth to a child as a result of the assault. He was sentenced to two years probation but was allowed to continue his law enforcement career.
On December 22, 2008, state investigators seized computers and other records related to Sheriff Deborah Trout’s hiring of undersheriffs and other personnel without the usual background checks and qualifications.
In 2010, a grand jury indicted then-sheriff Deborah Trout and two under-sheriffs on 43 counts of official misconduct and other charges. The indictment was later suppressed when new state officials were appointed by incoming Governor Chris Christie. The propriety of the investigation, the indictment and its aftermath are the subject of a number of legal actions.