An Expert in Murder and Other Violent Crimes, Child Sexual Abuse and False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Battered Woman Syndrome Defense
Our services are for attorneys only. Dr. Heller does not reply or give advice directly to consumers, litigants, or students. Ask your attorney to contact us directly. If this is about a mental health emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
Dr. Heller provides psychological case analysis for attorneys, client assessment, research to evaluate and assist in a case, and expert witness testimony. He has provided continuing legal education for attorneys on the forensic psychological assessment of the battered woman defense and how this can explain violent behavior manifested in women who have been in relationships significant for intimate partner violence. Dr. Heller’s dissertation on “criminal behavior and arousal” and his experience evaluating defendants often require his presence as an expert in trial and also to perform evaluations of a defendant in a correctional facility, an attorney’s office, or one of his offices in New York or New Jersey. He does travel to evaluate incarcerated defendants in other states when presented with a judge’s order or at the request of an attorney. Most recently, defendants with murder charges had to be evaluated at the Cook County Jail in Chicago and the Westchester County Jail in New York. He has also performed a “death row” evaluation for the Federal Public Defender (Arizona), numerous evaluations in murder, assault, and rape cases, including a triple homicide/kidnapping case (PA), and an evaluation of a military defendant with consultation to his military counsel regarding a court-martial (related to allegation of spouse abuse).
- Dr. Heller is currently on staff at Rutgers University Biomedical and Health Services, specializing in criminal behavior and risk assessment. In this staff assignment, he works as a Forensic Psychologist at East Jersey State Prison in Rahway, one of the oldest prisons in the United States. In this capacity, he provides clinical diagnosis, psychological treatment (individual and group), assessment for suicide risk, staff training for correction officers in suicide prevention, and consultation to other prison staff. Additionally, he performs risk assessments for sexually violent predators that may result in a civil commitment ordered by the State of New Jersey Attorney General’s Office after an inmate completes a sentence.
- Dr. Heller also serves as a forensic psychologist consultant for the Rockland County (NY) court evaluation service, where he has performed hundreds of child custody and child abuse/neglect evaluations, as well as criminal competency evaluations in numerous criminal cases, including murder. Dr. Heller is often requested by a judge and serves as the court expert to perform mental competency evaluations for defendants in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan area and in other states.
- Dr. Heller is fully vetted and accepts assignment under a contract with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). In this capacity, Dr. Heller functions as the U.S. Court’s expert to perform competency examinations for the Executive Office of Immigration Review for detained people who have been flagged as possibly having a mental illness.
- One of Dr. Heller’s special interests is the assessment of a specific case for the possibility of false allegations of child sexual abuse. He often testifies about research and specific attributes of allegations that can indicate a false allegation. He offers rationales and motivations for false allegations in a case and alternative hypotheses to explain these allegations.
- He can provide testimony about the general characteristics of child victims of sexual abuse, regarding general disclosure patterns, coping strategies, and behaviors of child abuse victims.
- Regarding perpetrators of child sexual abuse, he can testify about general characteristics of the process of victim selection, grooming, assault, victim response, and concealment.
- He can also testify about appropriate investigative child interview techniques in child abuse cases, such as forensic interview protocols, characteristics of children’s memory, suggestibility, and ability to provide eyewitness testimony.
- Additionally, Dr. Heller can testify about the general characteristics of false allegations of child abuse cases. He is a successful rebuttal witness to questionable syndrome evidence, such as CSAAS and Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse Syndrome.
- He reviews transcripts and videotapes of alleged victims and provides testimony regarding accepted interview protocols for the assessment of children found to have been sexually abused or those alleged to have been sexually abused.
- Dr. Heller is a mental health panel expert of the NYC Assigned Counsel program, a New York City Department of Corrections legal pass holder, and an approved forensic psychologist for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.
Dr. Heller is experienced in the following crimes, assignments, and evaluations:
- Murder, Multiple Murders, Rape, Robbery, Bank Robbery, Conspiracy, Arson, Assault, Burglary, Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, Child Sexual Abuse, Domestic Violence, Hit and Run, DWI, Vehicular Homicide, Use of Child Pornography, and White-Collar Crime (Embezzlement, Fraud)
- Evaluations Performed in the State, County, and City of New York, County Jails in Other States, and Federal Correctional Facilities
- Mental Impairment/Diminished Capacity Assessment
- Assessment of Competency to Stand Trial
- Criminal Behavior Affected by Intellectual, Mental, Cognitive, and Emotional Disability
- Clinical Assessment of Personality, Psychopathology, Organic Deficits, and Intelligence
- Administration and Analysis of Objective and Projective Psychological Tests
- The Effects of Alcohol and Various Kinds of Drug Abuse on Criminal Intent and Behavior
- Assessment of Acute vs. Chronic Alcohol Use As Related to DUI Sentencing
- Assessment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Related to Violent Crimes
- Assessments to Rule Out Malingering of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Clinical Assessment and Detection of Malingering and Deception in Defendants
- Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity/Criminal Responsibility
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Its Effects on Criminal Behavior
- Battered Woman Syndrome as a Legal Defense
- Effects of Domestic Violence and Symptoms of Battered Women
- False Arrest
- False Confession
- Coerced Confession
- Assessment and Evaluation of Incarcerated Defendants
- Dangerousness, Criminality Assessment, and Recidivism of Sex Offenders
- Administration of Actuarial Tests and Other Indicators of Recidivism and Future Risk
- Sex Offender Re-Offense Risk Assessments
- Pre-Sentence Family Studies and Bio-Psycho-Social Evaluations
- Immigration/Deportation Matters (the Effects on the Family of a Person to Be Sentenced or Possibly Deported)
- Police Officers and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Victim Assessments
- Mitigation Reports Prior to Sentencing
- Review of Interview Transcripts and Recordings of Other Investigators (Therapists, Caseworkers, and Police) Related to Standards and Protocols Used in Assessing Children About Alleged Child Sexual Abuse
- False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence
- Problems with Children’s Testimony (Suggestibility, Recantation, Memory Issues, Delayed Outcry, the Phenomena of “Believed-In Imaginings”)
- Forensic Interviewing of Children and Problems with Children’s Testimony
- Interview Protocols Used in the Assessment of Children Alleged to Have Been Sexually Abused
- Rebuttal Witness to Other Experts Who Promote “Syndrome Evidence”, Such As “Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome” (CSAAS) and “Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse Syndrome”
- Phenomena of Delayed Disclosure in Child Sexual Abuse and Rape
- Explanation and Discussion of Myths and Realities in True and/or False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse
- Testimony About “Red Flag” Indicators of Possible Child Sexual Abuse
- Research on Causes of Eyewitness Identification Error, Memory, and Perception
- Stalking and Harassment
- Crime Sprees, Mass Murders
- Gangs
- Stalking
- Media Consultation
- Parental Acceptance-Rejection Syndrome Related to Homicide, Depression, and Other Aberrant Behavior
- Rejection Sensitivity Related to Criminal Acts
- Pornography, Internet Addiction, and Inappropriate Use of Online Sites
- Cross-Cultural Factors in the Assessment of Defendants
- Litigation Consultation to Legal Teams regarding Analysis and Pertinent Issues of a Case
- Assessment of complex psychological dynamics and “counterintuitive victim behavior” specific to complex domestic violence cases (delay in reporting, not leaving, numerous unexplained inconsistencies)
- Analyst for CBS Evening News regarding the Craigslist Killer and Analyst for WABC TV (Inside Edition) regarding the segment on the BTK Killer
Contact
Contact our office to book our evaluation and risk assessment services for legal matters that run the gamut from domestic abuse and sexual assault to criminal competency. We strive to respond to all case inquiries from attorneys by the end of the same business day.
Manhattan Office (Mailing Address)
New Jersey Office (Alternate Mailing Address)
Service Areas
New York, New Jersey, and nationwide. Dr. Heller is a member of PSYPACT and is available on-site or via telehealth for all 40 PSYPACT-approved states or U.S. territories: AL, AZ, AR, CO, CNMI [1], CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NC, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WI, and WY. Consultation in California and several other states is permitted by statute. [1] CNMI refers to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Disclaimer: Our services are for attorneys only. Dr. Heller does not reply or give advice directly to consumers, litigants, or students. Ask your attorney to contact us directly. If this is about a mental health emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.