In the most recent turn of events in a saga that is tragic on many levels, psychologist Marsha Kleinman has had her license revoked after it was determined that she she coaxed at least one child into making false allegations of sexual abuse against her father and purposely misleading the court. Sexual abuse of a child is perhaps the most serious charge that can be levied against a parent during divorce and custody proceedings. False reports lead to life altering consequences for the accused parent and the child who was manipulated into making the false claims. False claims can destroy parent-child relationships, put employment at risk, clog the overly burdened judicial system with what are baseless claims and undermine the legitimate claims that are brought. In contested custody cases where allegations of abuse are made, the court relied heavily on the findings and testimony of experts such as Ms. Kleinman. Expert testimony is supposed to be neutral, objective and of assistance to the court. What happened here fails to meet any of those criteria. While it is reassuring to know that Ms. Kleinman will not be involved with NJ families going forward, it is impossible to tell the full extent of he actions and it is impossible to fully repair the damage false claims cause.
If you were a parent whose custody or parenting time rights were impacted by Ms. Kleinman’s reports or testimony you should contact an attorney immediately to determine what recourse you may have.
PSYCHOLOGIST WHO COAXED CHILD TO MAKE FALSE SEX-ABUSE CHARGES LOSES LICENSE
The state has revoked the license of a court-appointed psychologist found to have coaxed a 3-year-old girl into accusing her father of sexual abuse and to have misled the family court judge. The revocation took effect Wednesday, a day after the Board of Psychological Examiners ruled that Marsha Kleinman, of Highland Park, engaged in gross and repeated malpractice and other misconduct that endangered the girl’s welfare and threatened her relationship with her father. Kleinman, an acknowledged expert on domestic and child abuse, often lectured judges and state workers on those topics and was frequently appointed as an expert by family court during her 25 years of practice.
