Sending pedophiles to prison and facing down gang members were all just part of a day’s work in Dr Soublet’s previous life in Oregon.
Before coming to TAS last year to teach English and public speaking, Dr Soublet had an exciting, and dangerous, occupation as a criminal prosecutor.
She worked to bring justice to criminals for 16 years, dealing with “everything from simple traffic matters all the way up to aggravated murder and capital penalty.”
In recent years, Dr Soublet focused on child abuse and neglect cases. Why change careers? “For years I have thought about teaching. When TAS started a forensics department, it was the perfect opportunity for me to make the switch,” says Dr Soublet. “I needed a way to help kids without having to ask them very embarrassing questions in public settings.”
But, despite leaving, Dr Soublet still remains proud of her previous work. Her proudest moment involved a drunk driving accident, where a man named Ryan was killed by his friend. After the accident, Ryan’s friend told police that he was alone, forgetting about Ryan who had been ejected from the car. As a result, they didn’t find his body for two days. “It wasn’t an easy trial to do,” Dr Soublet says. “But we helped his family get closure and that’s something I’m very proud of.”
As with any job, thrilling action often times came with difficult, even life threatening, situations. Helping victims sometimes meant gang retaliation and even death threats, although they never intimidated Dr Soublet. As Dr Soublet says, “I’ve even stared down gang members in court before.”
However, there is one person who’s currently in prison that Dr Soublet will be happy not to see for a while. “He’s probably still pretty upset with me for sending him to prison,” says Dr Soublet.
Was it all worth it though? “Getting to speak for victims, particularly children who can’t speak for themselves” was really important for Dr Soublet.
“It’s always fun to send bad guys to prison.”