JERSEY CITY — Three years ago, Esther Suarez was sworn in as Hudson County's first woman prosecutor in front of a throng of cheering supporters, including one state lawmaker who warned Suarez "does not play."

Today, Suarez is on the ropes, facing questions about her office's decision not to prosecute a 2017 sexual assault allegation brought by Jersey City resident Katie Brennan against Al Alvarez, a Wood-Ridge man who oversaw Latino outreach for Phil Murphy's gubernatorial campaign.

Suarez's role in the matter has locals wondering how she will weather this political maelstrom, one that has already led to Alvarez's resignation as the state Schools Development Authority's chief of staff and the announcement of investigations by the Murphy administration and the state Legislature.

"She's going to be navigating through some rough waters over the next few months," one Hudson politico said.

In her first public statement since the controversy broke, Suarez told The Jersey Journal through her spokesman this evening, that she's prepared to testify about her role, as at least one lawmaker has suggested.

"I agree that I should be questioned, under oath, about what I knew and when I knew it, and I look forward to that opportunity," she said.

Suarez, 47, is a Bayonne native and Democrat who has been politically active for two decades. In the late 1990s, she worked for prominent law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck, later becoming an attorney for Hoboken, Bergen County and the Union City Parking Authority. She was appointed a Passaic County Superior Court judge in 2010.

Gov. Chris Christie appointed her as Hudson County's chief prosecutor, a role she assumed in July 2015. She held a public swearing-in ceremony that September, where she highlighted her immigrant roots. Her parents are from Spain.

Suarez's office investigated Brennan's allegations last year. Brennan told The Wall Street Journal that Alvarez sexually assaulted her inside her Jersey City home in April 2017 and that she believed in the fall of 2017 that the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office would arrest him. Instead, she told the paper, prosecutors said in early December it would not move forward.

Hudson pols were talking up Suarez as a potential state attorney general during some of this time, though she was never seriously considered, according to one state government source. Murphy chose Gurbir Grewal, whose appointment was announced on Dec. 12, 2017.

On Monday, Murphy opened an investigation into Alvarez's hiring. Senate Democrats said Tuesday they would lead their own inquiry. Last week, state Assembly Republicans sent a letter to Murphy regarding Suarez's investigation of the claims against Alvarez. One of them, Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, of Union County, told The Jersey Journal she thinks any legislative hearings about the matter should feature testimony from Suarez.

"She should be questioned," Munoz said. "(Brennan) reported immediately and the fact that the prosecutor's office didn't do anything and then deflect and say there's a conflict of interest — it's dubious at best."

Grewal's office issued a statement Monday saying the case was investigated "without involvement by Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez or members of her executive leadership team." According to that statement, Suarez realized earlier this month when she reviewed the file that she personally knows Brennan and Alvarez so she asked the state Division of Criminal Justice to supersede the case. The matter was re-assigned to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office last week.

A request for comment from Brennan's spokeswoman was not returned. Alvarez has not commented.

The sheer number of reported rapes in Hudson County is high, second in New Jersey only to Essex County. There were 169 reported rapes here in 2017, up from 136 the year before, according New Jersey State Police statistics.

One person sympathetic with Suarez said her office handles so many sex assault cases it's conceivable she would not have been briefed on Brennan's allegations. Another source said it's "not plausible" she would not have known, especially since the accused is an attorney.

"It doesn't look good for Suarez if Middlesex charges him," this person said.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.