By Sheila McLaughlin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Joanne Hash, Butler County assistant prosecutor, hugs a co-worker at her retirement luncheon Wednesday at the Warren County Courthouse in Lebanon. (Steven Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

LEBANON - Nine years into a teaching career, a tragic encounter with a student propelled Joanne Hash on a 29-year journey into some of the darkest corners of reality.

The year was 1973, and a student revealed that she was being molested by her father. Mrs. Hash, then a French and English teacher at Middletown High School, unsuccessfully tried to get police to intervene. She took the girl into her home for the night.

The teen committed suicide within days after Mrs. Hash was forced to send her home on her father's order.

"I realized I needed to do something. I didn't know enough about the law," said Mrs. Hash, now a 70-year-old grandmother of two.

Her answer was to quit her teaching job and go into law. Mrs. Hash, then a mother of three teen-age daughters, started working as a clerk in the prosecutor's office in 1974 and completed law school at the University of Cincinnati four years later.

She became Warren County's first female assistant prosecutor, and retires today after 29 years.

In a time when a female attorney trying felony cases was almost unheard of in Warren County, Mrs. Hash stepped in and picked up the most serious cases from the start.

"It was challenging. It was difficult at first," she said. "Back then, I was always well prepared. I had to know what I was doing and let people know I knew what I was doing."

Child abuse, sex crimes, murders, robberies - her caseload ran the gamut while she built a reputation as an authority on prosecuting sex cases, said Prosecutor Tim Oliver, who joined the office shortly after Mrs. Hash arrived.

Her knack for carefully crafted but rapid-fire closing arguments helped Mrs. Hash gain a 98 percent conviction rate at one point in her career, Mr. Oliver said.

"She was very good at what she did," Mr. Oliver said, noting that Mrs. Hash had a penchant for breaking rules. "You couldn't really have rules because she wasn't going to follow them," he said.

Co-workers said she was a passionate advocate who sought justice for victims, whom she typically took a personal interest in and often fed, clothed and shuttled around.

Mrs. Hash's courtroom successes weren't her only inspirations for the five female assistant prosecutors who have followed her.

Mrs. Hash kept up with cases while battling cancer and juggling the care of her husband, Charles, who has Alzheimer's disease.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel, summed up her feelings during a retirement luncheon Wednesday at the courthouse.

"You showed us you can be tough, while still be feminine," Mrs. Hutzel said. "And that you can put your time and your passion into your work and be aggressive, but still show you really care. In spite of cancer, in spite of everything, you can still do it."

E-mail smclaughlin@enquirer.com