Many times, when beginning a new case where a false allegation has been made, and we are assured that it is a false allegation that we are defending, one of the tools that we recommend, for many reasons, is our client's completion of the entire battery of psychological testing along with the Abel Assessment, or Abel Screen.

Procedures used during evaluation include review of records and/or documents from any agency, investigative reports, reports of prior treatments, psychiatric evaluation, psychological testing, the Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest, a polygraph and a drug screen.

The Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest is an objective method for evaluating deviant sexual interest. The assessment was developed by Gene G. Abel, M.D., a veteran with over 25 years experience and research in the area of sexual aggression. This technology uses non-evasive means to achieve objective measures of sexual interest.

There are basically two types of testing used in the treatment and/or identification of a possible sex offender; the Abel Assessment and the Penile Plethysmograph, or PPG. Prior to developing the Able Assessment, Dr. Abel personally used the plethysmograph, but realizing that in many cases it could be very degrading and humiliating for the person being tested, his desire was to develop a test that could accomplish the same results as the plethysmograph, but without the use of nudity, pornography or embarrassment.

I highly recommend the Abel Assessment for many reasons, but mainly because of the qualifications of Dr. Abel personally and for the fact that, as previously stated, the plethysmograph testing can easily be degrading to many. The penile plethysmograph measures penile circumference in millimeters caused by a partial or total erection. It is, therefore, a good, direct measure of physiological arousal because erection rarely occurs except to sexual stimulation. The Abel Assessment, on the other hand, uses an entirely different approach, an indirect measure. These are two totally different methods of measuring a sexual preference, such as pedophilia. Both the Abel Assessment and the Plethysmograph are very good tools and, in reality, each does pass all the requirements for scientific measure. The catch is that there are a few people who molest children who are not sexually aroused by children, such as psychopaths, alcoholics and child porn persons who are in it for the money, but they can usually be detected with psychological testing. Although not perfect, the accuracy of both of these devices are probably the best of any psychological tools.

Doctor Abel is a Board Certified Psychiatrist and Medical Director. He is a distinguished psychiatrist with a national and international reputation for diagnosing and treating problems of sexual misconduct and sexual aggression. He is considered by many of his colleagues to be the leading psychophysiology researcher in studies of sexual behavior in the United States.

Doctor Abel has directed six (6) National Institute of Mental Health Research Projects dealing with sexual deviancy problems. He has published over 100 medical articles in scientific journals and his book is entitled, "Stop Child Molestation."

Dr. Abel's assistance to me over the past 8 years has been invaluable. When he completes an assessment of a client for me, he details the overall evaluation results, the problems he sees and then he offers advice and recommendations of how to handle issues that could prove problematic. As an example, one reason that I depend on the Abel Assessment is to assist me in preparing my client for their possible testimony, should that be necessary, in either a civil or a criminal case. The Atlanta evaluation gives me the opportunity to observe my client in a stressful environment and for me to observe how they react and respond. I always expect my client to have some issues with depression and some with paranoia. That would be prefectly normal and acceptable with anyone who has been falsely accused of sexually molesting a child. The question is, what is the extent of their depression? I have had several clients that were found to have a major depression, one that they may not have wanted to acknowledge, but one that has begun affecting even their normal eating and sleeping habits. That is a real problem and should not be ignored. A depression of that magnitude usually requires medication. The medication does not "treat" the depression itself, it simply masks the symptoms and allows the person to think and react in a normal way. There are various types of medication and they can usually be prescribed by a family physician, however, if the medication has no affect 30 days after beginning to take it, they should consider possibly talking with an M.D. psychiatrist. The last thing I desire is to have a client with a major depression take a witness stand, or submit to additional evaluations until that issue is properly addressed.

The entire Abel Assessment is completed in Atlanta, Georgia and normally lasts two days. It usually begins at 8:30 a.m. the first day and normally concludes at about 5:30 p.m. The second day normally ends at about 5:00 p.m. or a little earlier.

The overall testing consists of:

Important Client Points of Consideration

I strongly believe in the Abel Assessment or Screening, simply because I have experienced the results and watched allegations completely disappear after having clients complete the examination. Costly, yes, but overall, one of the most worthwhile investments that could possibly be made in securing a proper defense, but again, only if the results are properly used. Our goal, in any false allegation case, is simply to win and any tool that assists us toward that end is obviously valuable. This testing is not simply for sexual preference, but basically is an entire psychological battery, supported by polygraph and this combined series is unmatched anywhere. I have yet to see any client who completed this testing not gain a great deal of confidence as well, something very vital to the defense.

Our Involvement

The only information not covered here is the specific strategy that I use in handling the results once someone has successfully completed testing. That cannot be done because each individual case differs and, I would not want someone attempting some of the things we may do because not done properly, they could quickly put an accused at risk.

You have accessed one of the many pages here at the Cowling Investigations, Inc., a False Allegation Defense Website. For an explanation of how we assist our clients who have been falsely accused, see Our Expertise, We Can Help. If you have been falsely accused, see What to Do - What Not to Do When Falsely Accused.