A former Rochester Hills man who has been behind bars for six years, convicted of molesting a child family member, was granted a new trial Thursday aftr a judge rules his defense attorney did not adequately represent him.

Jacob Trakhtenberg, 73, was ocnvicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct during a 55-minute bench trial in 2005. His court-appointed attorney, Deborah McKelvy, declined to ask for a jury trial, did not make an opening statement and called no witnesses except Trakhtenberg – who denied the charges.

Then-Oakland County Circuit Judge Deborah Tyner found him guilty and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

On Thursday, Circuit Judge Daniel P. O’Brien ruled that McKelvy provided ineffective counsel to Trakhtenberg and that he should get a new trial. O’Brien set a trial date for Nov. 1.

Trakhtenberg was not in court Thursday and remains in prison. One of his attorneys, James Eliott, said he planned to notify Trakhtenberg – Who steadfastly has continued to maintain his innocense – of the news today.

“He’s been in prison a long time,” Eliott said. “He deserves some good news.”

Trakhtenberg passed up a chance at probation in January because he has refused to take responsibility for his crime, a requirement of the parole board. Elliott said Trakhtenberg will refuse to admit guilt, even if he is required to serve out the full sentence.

His appellate attorney, Robyn Frankel, said she would seek to have Trakhtenberg released on bond pending the new trial.

Trakhtenberg was arrested on the charges after his ex-wife made allegations, and the child was interviewed by police. Within weeks of the conviction, his ex-wife filed a civil suit, seeking Trakhtenberg’s $5 million estate.

Eliott represented Trakhtenbger during the six-day civil trial. During that trial, Eliott questioned the ex-wife and child on the stand, and provided expert testimony on how suggestions can be introduced to children in sex cases. Jurors found in favor of Trakhtenberg and declined to award damages to the ex-wife. A juror at the time told the Free Press that he believed the child had been coached by the ex-wife.

Trakhtenberg subsequently took a polygraph while in prison, and passed.

Attorney McKelvy did not immediately return calls Thursday to her cell and office phones. Trakhtenberg has sued her for malpractice. That case is pending in the higher courts.

Lawrence Wasser, Forensic Polygraph Examiner, was recently bestowed membership in the British Polygraph Association.

In 2007, Wasser received the President’s Award from the American Polygraph Association (APA). This award was presented to Wasser for nineteen years of service as Vice President and member of the Board of Directors for his outstanding contributions to the polygraph profession throughout the world. He was also given Life Membership. He serves as a certified polygraph school inspector for the APA.

Wasser is the recipient of four of five major awards given by the APA for exceptional service to the polygraph profession.

In 2003, Wasser was presented with the President’s Award by the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners (MAPE). He served three terms as President of MAPE and served twenty-one years on the Board of Directors of MAPE. He was also the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for this Association.

In 1983, 1987, and 1991 Wasser was appointed by the Governor of Michigan and confirmed by the Michigan Senate to the Michigan State Board of Forensic Polygraph Examiners. In addition, Wasser is a member of the following Polygraph Associations:
California, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Singapore, and Latin America. He is a Diplomate and Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners. Mr. Wasser is President of Wasser Consulting Services, Inc., located in Southfield, Michigan. He has been a Forensic Polygraph Examiner since 1972 and has conducted over seventeen thousand polygraph examinations. Wasser is a qualified polygraph expert in both State and Federal Courts.

Lawrence Wasser, forensic polygraph examiner, received the 2007 President’s Award at the American Polygraph Association’s 42nd annual international seminar held in New Orleans.

This award was presented to Wasser for 19 years of service as vice president and member of the Board of Directors, and for outstanding contributions to the polygraph profession throughout the world.  Wasser was also given lifetime membership.  He has served as a certified polygraph school inspector for the American Polygraph Association.

Wasser is further the recipient of four of the five major awards given by the American Polygraph Association for exceptional service to the polygraph profession.

During 2003, Wasser was presented with the President’s Award from the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners in the State of Michigan.  He served three terms as president of the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners and served 21 years on the
Board of Directors.  He received their Distinguished Service Award.

In 1983, Wasser was appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate to serve three four-year terms on the Michigan State Board of Forensic Polygraph Examiners.  He is a member of the following Polygraph Associations:  California, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Singapore, and Latin America.  He is a Diplomat and Fellow in the American College of Forensic Examiners.
Wasser is president of Wasser Consulting Services, Inc., located in Southfield.  He has been a forensic polygraph examiner since 1972 and is a qualified expert in both State and Federal courts.

Lawrence Wasser, forensic polygraph examiner, recently received the William L. Bennett Memorial Award at the American Polygraph Association’s 38th annual seminar held in Reno, Nevada.

This award was presented to Wasser for outstanding contributions to polygraph throughout the world. He was previously presented with three of the five other major awards given for outstanding service to the polygraph profession.

Last year at the 37th annual seminar, Wasser was re-elected to a two-year term to the association’s board of directors. The association represents professional polygraph examiners throughout the world.

On May 9, 2003, Wasser was presented with the President’s Award from the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners for outstanding service to the polygraph profession in the state of Michigan.

The American College of Forensic Examiners recently elevated Wasser from diplomat to fellow.

Wasser is president of Wasser Consulting Services, Inc. in Southfield. He is a past three-term president of the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners and has served 17 years on its board of directors. He has received their most prestigious award, the distinguished Service Award.

Wasser was appointed in 1983 by the governor and confirmed by the Senate serving three four-year terms on the Michigan state Board of Forensic Polygraph Examiners. He has been a forensic polygraph examiner since 1972 and is recognized as an expert in both state and federal courts.

Wasser is also a member of the California, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, and Florida Polygraph Associations.

When divorce is bitter, those who bear the brunt of the hard feelings are almost always the children.

Getting at one’s former spouse, the big jerk, is most readily accomplished through the kids, especially when it comes to arguments over custody and visitation.

Unfortunately, one of the most frequent avenues of retribution is an accusation of sexual abuse.  Investigators are inclined to believe the children, even when it has been demonstrated time after time that young kids can be coached to fabricate stories and may even have their own agenda for getting back at a parent thought to be too strict.

Usually, however, such charges are directed at the father.  In Denise Manns Doyle’s case, they were made against her.

Her former husband was given custody of their two sons, who were then aged 10 and 6.

After visits to Doyle’s home, accusations of inappropriate touching and behavior were made.

What should have put the authorities on alert was that there were also stories about being made to have sex with a cat.

Nonetheless, the stories had an air of plausibility, and Doyle was charged with child abuse.

“When the police showed up at my home, I had no idea why I was being arrested,” says Doyle, who live in Clinton Township.  ”When they told me the charge, my first thought was, ’Why?  I don’t hit my kids.’

“Never in my worst nightmare did I think I could be accused of this.  It was like an out-of-body experience, like I was floating above myself, and it was all unreal.”

After consulting with her attorney, Mark Haddad, it was decided she would have a polygraph exam.

“She jumped on the idea,” says Haddad.  ”A lot of people are scared of lie detectors because of what they’ve heard.  But Mrs. Doyle’s attitude was ‘This has only got to help me.’”

Polygraphs do not enjoy the best reputation.  But that is mostly because the tests are only as good as the examiner.  Inept or biased examiners can misread or distort any reading.

Haddad chose Lawrence Wasser, of Beverly Hills, who is regarded as one of the top polygraph examiners in the state.

“I’ve got to tell you that when I first read the report, I thought this woman was despicable,”
says Wasser.  ”It is so unusual for a mother to be charged with something like this-I don’t think I’ve ever had another case like it-that it kind of rocked me.  But she passed the test without a question.”

Armed with the results of the test and after taking depositions, Haddad got the charges thrown out.

“People get very defensive about lie detectors,” says Wasser, “as if they twist the truth and reveal secrets that are made to sound like guilt.  But for innocent people who are falsely accused, like Mrs. Doyle, they are the best hope we’ve got.”

Denise Doyle will not comment on why her children said what they did.  In her mind, they were victims.

“I’ll get over this,” she says.  ”I only pray they do, too.”

One evening last fall, Dr. Waleed Mammo left his dental office in Sterling Heights to drive home.  In the parking lot, he was confronted by a gunman who demanded his keys.

Dr. Mammo offered money instead but was angrily waved off.  He turned over his keys and watched his Cadillac driven away.  He then returned to his office and called the police.

But the carjacking was only his first upleasant surprise of the day.  The second came when the cops made it clear that they felt this was not a robbery.

“They began asking me if I gambled a lot,” says the Iraqi-born dentist.  ”They asked me if I had done into Detroit to look for prostitutes.  They wanted to know if I was over the mileage limit on my lease.

“I was staggered.  Here I am, a professional man and a property owner in their community, and they were treating me like a criminal.  I was the one who had been robbed.  But they told me that my description of the crime was impossible because carjacking didn’t happen here.”

“There is not a doubt in my mind that if I had been a dentist named Dr. O’Hara, never in a million years would I have been treated this way.”

Sterling Heights police did not respond to phone calls asking about the case.

There is a lot of news about police profiling these days.  African Americans say they are frequently pulled over by suburban cops for the offense of Driving While Black.

There is also a growing tendency to profile Arab Americans and, in this area, Chaldeans.

Arab voters in Hamtramck complained that they were singled out for extensive checks on registration and residency last November.

This is especially interesting in a community with no record of being overly punctilious about voting laws. Arab merchants in Detroit are often tagged with the stereotype of being clannish, abusive and dishonest-and by those who should know best the damage stereotypes can do.

Dr. Mammo’s attourney, Raymond Salloum, suggested he take a polygraph.  The test was administered by Lawrence Wasser, of Southfield, who found that the dentist was non-deceptive in his responses.

“It’s much harder to show that than it is to show that someone is lying during an examination,” says Wasser.  ”But Dr. Mammo clearly was telling the truth.”

A few days later, the cops found his car parked near the home of a young man who had bragged about the crime in school.  Dr. Mammo’s office was clearly visible from the driveway.

Dr. Mammo does not carry a grudge “because I still have my practice here and I don’t need any trouble.”

But there must be other factors, besides race or ethnicity alone, to justify the use of profiling.

Otherwise, it isn’t profiling.  It’s bigotry.

In two decades as a polygraph examiner, Lawrence Wasser thought he had managed to put his emotions aside when interviewing subjects.

He had seen them all walk through his door, from smirking young thugs who thought they could beat him to frightened clerks wrongly accused of theft.  Wasser learned to be dispassionate and let his reading of the polygraph tell the tale.  But he had never examined a 7-year old child before, either.

“Brian was very intelligent and had an amazing vocabulary,” says Wasser.

“Otherwise, it would have been impossible to conduct the test.  If a child can’t tell the difference between true and false in his own mind, obviously he can’t be polygraphed.”

Wasser believes that no one this young has ever been examined in a legal proceeding in Michigan.  Because of the age of the subject, his real name has not been used.  But everyone involved in the case lives in the Metro Detroit area.

Brian’s parents are divorced, and he had accused his father of sexual abuse during visitations.  The mother was trying to get the visits suspended, and the father faced the prospect of criminal prosecution.  The mother’s attorney, Barry Fayne, of Southfield, had
brought the boy to Wasser to sort out a few inconsistencies in his story.

Brian had accused his father, among other things, of breaking his arm, wearing women’s clothes and masturbating in his presence.
“This child walked into my office and, in spite of myself, I was furious,” says Wasser.  ”He was a beautiful, smart little boy and I was almost eager to nail the SOB who would abuse this kid.”

Instead, the examination proved that Brian was lying.  When shown the test results, he admitted making it all up.

Later psychological exams indicated that his mother was suffering from Factitious Disorder by Proxy.  Paranoid delusions brought on by severe depression had been projected on her son in the form of imaginery injuries and abuse.

“This case was a reminder to me about trusting your emotions,” says Wasser.

“When you’re dealing with children, stay detached.  Trust your integrity first.”