Patel has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton Law School since 2008, is the head coach of a local soccer team he helped found with the Dayton Salvation Army and resides in downtown Dayton with his family.
Patel replaces former acting attorney David DeVillers, who stepped down after the Justice Department announced it asked U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Donald Trump to resign from their posts. Patel was not appointed by President Biden and a permanent replacement is typically announced within six months, according to the prosecutor’s office.
“These are huge shoes to fill, and I am humbled and honored to fill them,” Patel said in a statement. “The important work of the public servants in this office – and their dedication to justice – continues. Our casework will persist uninterrupted.”
Patel has prosecuted a number of federal cases in the Dayton area. He was the lead prosecutor in the first international terrorism trial in the Southern District of Ohio, he prosecuted the weapons charge against a friend of the Dayton mass shooter and prosecuted a child exploiter who abused an infant and other children, the prosecutor’s office said.
The U.S. Attorney Office for the Southern District of Ohio covers 48 counties in the state, including the cities of Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus.
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