New victim witness head takes over as coordinator

• Pam Bellrichard

Pam Bellrichard is the new coordinator of the Victim Witness program for St. Croix County. She took over for Ann Gustafson who retired.

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It is déjà vu for Pam Bellrichard, the new coordinator for the St. Croix County Victim Witness Program.

Bellrichard has returned to head up the program where she served as an intern while earning a criminal justice degree at UW-Eau Claire in 1991. Her mentor at the time was Ann Gustafson, who just retired and created the opening for Bellrichard.

Her face might be familiar to old timers in the government center since she worked as a legal secretary in the district attorney’s office from 1992-98. Bellrichard took over as victim witness coordinator in Pierce County in 1998 where she served until taking over the position in Hudson.

Bellrichard, 40, grew up in Plum City where she graduated from high school in 1987. She graduated from UW-EC in 1991. “Most of my colleagues in the criminal justice program were either going to be cops or probation officers,” she said. But the relatively new criminal justice program caught her eye and became her calling.

Bellrichard lives in River Falls with her husband and two daughters.

Tags: crime and courts, victim witness, pam bellrichard, news, coordinator