Forensic Psychology
Since 1997, I have conducted forensic evaluations of male survivors of childhood abuse in both civil and criminal cases. I have worked on forensic cases in numerous states including North and South Carolina, Illinois, Arizona, California, Maryland, Mississippi and Virginia, as well as cases under federal jurisdiction. Most of my forensic cases have involved capital murder, or death penalty, cases in which the defendant had been abused during his childhood. In these cases, I have conducted evaluations of the defendant in order to better understand the impact of childhood events – including trauma and abuse – upon his later functioning.
Both through my writing and my appearances in court, I am able to connect with and communicate effectively with the jurors encharged with determining a defendant's fate. In these cases, I write a mini-biography of an individual charged with capital murder. By doing so, I help those who read my report or hear my testimony understand how his childhood -- filled with tragedy and abuse -- contributed to him developing into the adult he became.
Watch a brief video excerpt of my recent testimony in the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial.
I have presented on the topic of male sexual abuse in numerous contexts, including two conferences focused upon issues related to childhood abuse and the law.
- In February 2005, I presented The Impact of Sexual Abuse Upon Males, as part of a panel entitled Sexual Abuse of our Clients when they were Young, at the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice/ California Public Defenders Association Capital Case Defense Seminar, Executing Justice Not People, in Monterrey, CA.
- In April 1997, I presented The Impact of Trauma at the Conference on Mental Retardation, Mental Illness, and the Death Penalty, held at the North Carolina Central University School of Law, in Durham, NC.
Publications
I am the author of The Male
Survivor: Impact of Sexual Abuse (Sage Publications, 1994). For succinct summaries of some of the central themes of the book, I would encourage you to take a look at the papers
linked below:
- Sexually Abused Males: This brief article examines factors in the under-recognition of the sexual abuse of boys and implications for intervention and treatment.
- The Impact of Sexual Abuse Upon Males: Family Violence and Sexual Assault Bulletin, 9, 23-27: This article explores factors of particular salience to male survivors, including issues similar to those facing female survivors and those unique to male survivors.
Professional Memberships
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- APA Division 41 - American Psychology-Law Society
- American College of Forensic Psychology
- National Association of Sentencing Advocates and Mitigation Specialists (NASAMS)
- North Carolina Psychological Association (NCPA)
Links
- The National Alliance of Sentencing Advocates and Mitigation Specialists (NASAMS)
- The Center for Death Penalty Litigation, a non-profit law firm located in Durham, North Carolina.
- The trailer for Boys & Men Healing from Child Sexual Abuse, a film currently in production by Big Voice Productions.