one of his younger daughters had taken numerous Polaroid photos of him engaged in the act! At last, an actual incest perpetrator was being sent to my office!
While the details of the case go far beyond the scope of this discussion, the first ten minutes I spent with this client have enriched my understanding of one of the major problems in this arena of practice: He walked into my office and sat in front of my desk. He was well dressed and groomed. Every hair was in place and he politely asked if he could smoke (in those days smoking was not yet unpatriotic). He lit his cigarette with a gold cigarette lighter as I could not help but notice the diamond pinky-ring on his right hand.
There was no doubt in my mind, this was indeed an incest perpetrator! You could see by the way he was dressed, by his calm and measured demeanor, and that pinky ring that was a dead giveaway. Looking into his eyes, one could tell immediately: Those were the eyes of a child molester, no doubt about it! I noticed his brown leather shoes, imported to be sure: It simply made sense to me a child molester would certainly wear those shoes!
As the interview progressed, I became even more knowledgeable. By the time it ended I was sure that I could spot a child molester walking down the street. A few sleepless nights taught me a lesson that guided my career and that is interwoven into the fabric of this publication: There is something unique about the crime of child molestation that must always be considered by all players of the courtroom drama that will either convict or acquit the accused.
I have never been given to hysteria or the pileon mentality that sometimes prevails among zealots of this or that cause. But the plain truth is: Most people can understand the motivations behind most crimes. Indeed, we flock to the movies to vicariously experience them. When was the last time Hollywood produced a movie staring a child molester? It is simply not a big draw (Perhaps, as Freud described, because of the very "grey" area of everyone's mind that houses confused memories of parent child and child-parent love and one's emerging "psychosexual" development in Freud's language).
There is something about pedophilia that is beyond our personal understanding. The vast majority of us are parents who are sexually active, yet trying to imagine the "motivations" and "pleasures" of the pedophile is, by social norms, a taboo. Yet, intelligent people have curious minds that can often play games with us in the face of such a strong taboo. Thus, as this very average New Yorker sat in my office, I saw that which was not there. His dress, his mannerisms and demeanor became "evidence" in a normally rational mind that suspended its rationality in the service of the taboo that this person committed. I have seen this phenomena at work within caseworkers, therapists, attorneys, judges and juries. It may be ignored only at the expense of the victim of the false allegations of child sexual abuse. I've learned this lesson well.
As a final note to my Q.S.P.C.C. experience, I might add that upon my graduation from Hunter and licensure by the state, I was contacted by this agency and asked if I wanted employment as a psychotherapist with my duties being the provision of therapy to convicted incest perpetrators. I had just begun my private family practice, and the terms of their offer were attractive. I accepted under the clear understanding that I would not be doing any protective casework investigations or court work.
I was basically left alone by the agency and rather enjoyed applying my craft to this population of clients who very much needed help. One Friday afternoon, however, I found a stack of clinical charts on my desk along with a note from the agency's director indicating that I "had to sign" the enclosed reports. I quickly explained that there must be a mistake because I had not seen any of these clients. The director explained that the "policy" was that I had to sign these reports because the actual workers on the cases were not licensed or properly credentialed. These reports dealt with the removal of children from homes and the recommendation to criminally prosecute alleged perpetrators of abuse. I was given an ultimatum: Sign the reports or sign your resignation. I chose the latter, without hesitation or reservation.
Two weeks later I saw my replacement on the Sixo'clock news being escorted out of Q.S.P.C.C. by the District Attorney's Office. Unknown to me, there was an ongoing undercover investigation of this agency in progress during my employment. The practices that I refused to participate in became the subject of The People v. Dossinger,
(Supreme Court Decision, Queens County, New York, Feb. 1983) and also the first Chapter of the book Malpractice and Liability In Child Protective Services (American Humane Association, 1984).
Amazingly, nearly a decade and a half later, after participation in scores of false allegation cases in numerous jurisdictions, it remains my impression that otherwise very competent attorneys, and even very distinguished ones, fail to hold the feet of these protective service agencies to the fire! Why is this so? For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that NOBODY is in favor of child abuse! There may be those who might say, "That S.O.B. deserved to be shot," or, "I can understand why she robbed the bank." But never is such a statement made with reference to the sexual abuse of children.
Through the years, my employment as an expert witness and consultant has made me a good living. Half of the time I act as a consultant providing attorneys with much of the information that is contained in this volume. Clearly, many of those who are falsely accused can hardly afford to retain
an attorney, much less an out-of-town expert. It is sincerely hoped that this volume will provide assistance to many in this situation.
The most difficult part of this project has been deciding what not to include. My experience has shown that most attorneys do not suffer for lack of information in this computer age, but rather, they are surrounded by mountains of information from which they must distill the handful they need. Having dedicated most of my professional life to forensic work in this area, I am convinced that cases involving allegations of the sexual abuse of a child rise or fall on an attorney's ability to deal with expert, and not so "expert", testimony. This will be accomplished by effective case management, careful assessment of the accused, understanding the "indicators" of child sexual abuse, refuting adverse expert testimony, and locating and presenting appropriate experts to support your client. To achieve this you will need the latest research at your fingertips. This volume, and its updates, will be a means to this end.
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