The chief assistant prosecutor of the child assault division in the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office will take the common pleas bench on Oct. 21. The governor’s office announced the appointment of Jennifer Muench-McElfresh on Tuesday.

Muench-McElfresh replaces retired Judge Andrew Nastoff. Muench-McElfresh will have to run in the November 2014 general election to retain the seat for a full six-year term commencing Jan. 1, 2015.

She received her bachelor’s degree and her law degree from the University of Cincinnati. She was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio on Nov. 10, 1997.

Muench-McElfresh is a volunteer for the Ohio Reads Program, the Sacred Heart School and RASKALS, and is also a pen pal for Lincoln Elementary School in Hamilton. She received the Meritorious Service Award in 2012 from the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and is a past member of the City of Fairfield Parks and Recreation Board.