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PHILADELPHIA — A former assistant prosecutor has been sworn in as Philadelphia’s first black district attorney.

Seth Williams was inaugurated Monday in a ceremony at the Kimmel Center downtown, along with re-elected City Controller Alan Butkovitz and newly elected city judges.

The 42-year-old Willams becomes the city’s first new DA in nearly 20 years. His former boss, Lynne Abraham, decided not to run again after serving since 1991.

Williams says he hopes to make Philadelphia the safest big city in America.

He has been a longtime critic of Abraham and says the city’s justice system is broken. He campaigned on plans to create a system in which prosecutors are assigned to neighborhoods to help gain the trust of communities.

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