Hot Off Viral Case, New Delco DA Looks To Further Reduce Crime, Expand Diversion Programs

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse had a rather memorable first week in office.

The longtime prosecutor who served under Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and Delco District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer has worked countless cases. But his first big case after being appointed Delco's DA as Stollsteimer assumed a judgeship position was unlike anything he had seen.

"It is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific," Rouse said at a news conference on the case against Jonathan Gerlach, who is accused of stealing skeletal remains and more from a local cemetery and hoarding them in his Lancaster County home and storage space.

"It's not so much that case itself," he said of his busy first week, "so much as it is combined with the swirl going on all around with first week stuff."

On top of announcing the shocking details of Gerlach's case, Rouse had to deal with issues like raising his desk height.

"Quite literally, I think I'm 8 inches taller than my predecessor," he said. "So we had to fix my desk because I was banging my knees."

And the first week Rouse's tenure was filled with administrative tasks such as that, as is expected when a new public official takes over a high-profile role.

"When you combine that with this case exploding in my lap, it's been an interesting first week," he said. "And just the process of sending someone an email to say, 'do not stress about painting my name front an center the first day, it's totally fine, that can take three weeks, I won't care.' But I still have to send that email, so it's just another thing and it adds up quite a bit."

Rouse, a Phoenixville native graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Fordham School of Law, worked as a prosecutor in Philadelphia from 2010 to 2017, made an unsuccessful state senate bid, then joined a private practice doing personal injury work for about a year and a half.

"We were doing great stuff," he said of his time in private practice. "But ultimately it was not as fulfilling as I found the role that I took with [Stollsteimer.]

He returned to the public sector on Jan. 6, 2020, serving as Delaware County's First Assistant District Attorney under Stollsteimer until his swearing in as DA on Jan. 5, 2026.

Rouse taking over for Stollsteimer is akin to an offensive coordinator taking over a head coaching position. But don't expect him to be a Kevin Patullo in Delaware County.

"My job is to do the right thing," he said. "It sounds cliché, it sounds trite. It is true. I want to be seeking the truth, I want to be fighting for truth, I want to be trying to do what's right rather than trying to do what's in the best interest of person X."

And that mindset has always rung true with the Swartmore resident.

"It's how I was taught to perceive this job," he said. "I still believe it."

One important lesson he learned working in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office was the impact of connecting with communities affected by crime.

"It's to be more than a guy who simply took a file and went to court," he said. "To actually be a part of the community you were serving, to get to know it in a fundamental way."

A prosecutor who knows the residents, knows the corners, as well as anybody can more easily get a nervous witness to testify in court.

"You're going to get so much further doing that by sitting in their living room than you are dragging them to your desk," he said. "It creates a culture of genuine investment in these places if we're actively experiencing these places and being a part of those communities."

While some Delaware County residents may balk at the idea of translating prosecutorial practices from Philadelphia locally, Rouse reassured residents he won't be taking much out of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's playbook, often seen as controversial and soft on crime.

"There’s not much of what he's doing that I'm doing," Rouse said.

He will, however, continue efforts put forth by Stollsteimer that have led to reductions in crime across the county.

"In Delaware County for the last six years, we have been an example of how you can make meaningful reform while reducing violent crime," he said. "These two things are not mutually exclusive."

Rouse touted the office's success in reducing and prosecuting violent crime, and said residents should expect to see that work continue.

"The same people are in place, we will be running the same plays," he said.

He also said the county's prison population is down by half from 2020, and that crime has not increased as a result.

"People in Delaware County are safer today, and the system is more just."

While Stollsteimer's tenure featured a fruitful focus on reducing violent crime in Chester with the Safe Streets Program — which is run by Deputy District Attorney Matthew Krouse — Rouse said he wants to deploy similar tactics to do the same in Upper Darby.

"To me, [Upper Darby] is, for lack of a better word, one of the most underrated towns or areas really in this entire region," he said. "There is so much happening in Upper Darby, so much good stuff."

2025 was a quieter year in terms of crime in Upper Darby, and Rouse said he plans to use more of his community involvement methods to further the trend.

"I think the best way to build on that success is to put more of ourselves into [Upper Darby]," he said.

Another way to do so is to invest in the county's diversion programs, whether they be criminal or drug related, Rouse said.

Factors that hold back the county's diversion programs back include insurance regulations related to residency. These can get in the way if, for example, a resident of Montgomery County wants to enter a drug diversion program in Delaware County.

"Developing a reciprocity with these other counties where we're not allowing insurance companies to dictate exactly who is getting into those programs is big for me," he said. This is largely due to the drug abuse treatment aspect of diversion programs. "There needs to be this funding, and the county can't pay for it if you are not a county resident."

But Rouse again reiterated the office's commitment to prosecuting crime.

And that includes any potential federal agents who break the law in Delaware County.

"Let me be clear: ICE agents are no different from any other person in terms of the legalities of their actions," he said. "If you are doing unlawful things under the cloak of an ICE badge, you will be arrested and you will be prosecuted. We are not going to tolerate unlawful behavior from anyone. No job in the world entitles you to break the law."