Linn County District Attorney Doug Marteeny announced that long-time Deputy DA Ani Yardumian was honored with the Oregon District Attorneys Association’s (ODAA) 2026 Sex Crimes Prosecutor of the Year award by her peers at the ODAA summer conference.
The ODAA is an organization made up of 36 elected DAs and their deputies, approximately 500 across the state. ODAA acknowledges the top prosecutors in several specialized fields.
Yardumian was nominated by Marteeny after 32 years with the DA’s office in Albany, calling her one of the finest child abuse prosecutors he had ever seen after his years as a deputy DA and 13 years as the elected DA in Linn County.
The award is bestowed by a committee of the ODAA after all the prosecutors in the state submit nominations.
Marteeny explained that this past year Yardumian had handled a number of sex abuse cases with very successful outcomes. She has tried cases against Caleb Fry, who received 18.75 years, and Brandon Morgan, who received 56 years.
Her recent cases also include Alan Dude, whose threats made outside the courthouse in April 2026 caused Albany law enforcement to lock down the entire courthouse complex for hours. Dude then pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years.
In the last five months, Yardumian has tried and won five major sex abuse cases. While she has spent 32 years as a deputy prosecutor, Yardumian has spent the last 13 years as a senior deputy district attorney, which, as Marteeny explained, is the management level by which his office is organized, with four senior deputy DAs serving in attorney supervisor capacity.
“These are by their very nature crimes of secrecy,” Yardumian said. “And as such, they deprive the victims of the type of evidence we would have in many other types of cases, like witnesses, surveillance, etc. Society is better and made safer when we can shine a light upon these crimes and expose those who prey upon others.”
Marteeny commented, “Ani Yardumian is a friend to children and a nightmare to those who prey on them.”