Matthew Torbenson

Matthew Torbenson is a Deputy District Attorney with the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. In his role as Deputy District Attorney, Matthew oversees the domestic violence unit, the sensitive crimes unit, and the child protection and advocacy unit within the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. Matthew also directly handles child homicides and  complex child maltreatment cases.

Prior to becoming a Deputy District Attorney, Matthew Torbenson served as the first team captain of the Child Protection & Advocacy Unit (CPAU). District Attorney John Chisholm formed the Child Protection & Advocacy Unit in 2008 to provide a greater focus on the protection of child victims and to hold those who abuse or neglect children to a higher level of accountability. District Attorney Chisholm chose Matthew Torbenson to lead this initiative.

Matthew has extensive training and experience in prosecuting complex child abuse and child neglect matters, with specialization in child homicides, abusive head trauma (formerly shaken baby), child torture cases, inflicted burn injuries, and child neglect.

In addition to his expertise in child maltreatment, in 2011 Matthew successfully negotiated the first ever return of a child who was abducted by a parent to Japan. In 2015 Matthew partnered with the US Attorney's Office to negotiate the safe return of a child who was abducted by her mother to Mexico.

Prior to serving as the team captain of CPAU, Matthew served as the team captain of the juvenile sensitive crimes unit for five years, where Matthew successfully prosecuted a number of complex cases, including gang sexual assaults and one of the first widespread "sexstortion" cases in Wisconsin’s history.

Matthew grew up in the City of Milwaukee, attending Milwaukee Public Schools. In 2001 Matthew graduated from Marquette University with a triple major in history, social philosophy, and criminology. In 2004 Matthew graduated from Marquette Law School and was hired by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office by then District Attorney E. Michael McCann.