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For over 40 years, Seth L. Goldstein has worked in the cases of child sexual abuse and trauma in one forum or another. After serving in law enforcement for 20 years at the Berkeley Police Department and in the Santa Clara and Napa County District Attorneys' offices, The Law Offices of Seth L. Goldstein has recreated the successful, criminal prosecution, multi-disciplinary team model,  prosecuting child abuse cases for use in the civil sector. 

 

While working as a police officer, Mr. Goldstein began consulting with lawyers in the area of Family and Juvenile Law and discovered there was no such model in the civil sector. With this in mind, Mr. Goldstein began to fill that void and became one of only a handful of law practices focusing on properly litigating complex child abuse and interpersonal violence cases. With his background in investigations, he then began teaching his skills to help others in complex civil cases on how to properly litigate with evidence being the focus. 
 

Since 1977 Mr. Goldstein has concentrated his professional life around the litigation of child abuse allegations, teaching other professionals throughout the world, including FBI, Law Enforcement, Judges, CPS, Social Workers, and other child abuse investigators and workers in similar fields. 

 

Mr. Goldstein has represented clients in Personal Injury, Family Law, Juvenile Law, Administrative Law, in the Federal District Courts, State Appellate Courts, as well as the California Supreme Court. With Mr. Goldstein as an expert, he helped win a groundbreaking case in the Bankruptcy Court, helping future victims of Domestic Violence in similar financial cases (Hoskins v. Wescott 12-03134 ND CA).  

 

Seth L. Goldstein grew up in Berkeley and is a graduate of University of California Berkeley where he was a police officer for 20 years. He later graduated with his JD at Oakland College of Law and was admitted to the California State Bar in 1995.

 

He has presented at seminars and workshops on the issues of child abuse, and custody cases as well as child sexual abuse, interpersonal violence, complex trauma, victimology, deception and investigations of such cases for law enforcement.

 

Mr. Goldstein has presented at University of Southern California, Stanford and Harvard, FBI Academy at Quantico, Robert Presley Institute for Criminal Investigation, California Department of Justice, Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training, the International Conference on Interpersonal Violence, Abuse and Trauma, and many others.

 

Seth is a founding board member of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Child Abuse Forensic Institute.

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J.M.

“Very good information. Thank you so much for your expertise!"

A.M.K

"Very informative and enlightening."

E.M.

"This was fantastic! Thank you for everything. It is bothersome that we have to have these workshops, but thank you for doing them!"

Publications

editorial review boards of the Journal of Child Custody and the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse.  He is the author of the textbook The Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Practical Guide to Assessment, Investigation, and Intervention, 2nd Edition, 1999, published by CRC Press. 

Seth L. Goldstein has written several articles on the subject of sexual abuse and exploitation of children, which have been published nationally, and he has been recognized for his work on numerous occasions - twice by the American Bar Association. His most recent publications are specifically on how to properly handle child abuse allegations that arise during custody and visitation matters. He is on the 

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Purchase Seth's Book

The Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Practical Guide to Assessment, Investigation, and Intervention, 2nd Edition, 1999, published by CRC Press.

Book Review

“A seasoned investigator of child sexual victimization. Seth Goldstein, develops a handbook which provides, "the police investigator with a base of knowledge from which to build the best case possible..." Goldstein pungently bares his and other law enforcer's experiences with the new and more frightening faces of child sexual exploitation.  The Sexual Exploitation of Children skillfully debunks the myth of the offender as a solo sex fiend and a poor, depraved, scar-faced stranger who waits in the bushes for young prey. He alerts us to the fact that the home, school, child-care centers, streets, and recreational facilities are no longer safe havens for children than are the bushes. Crucial importance is Goldstein's humanistic approach to investigation. He urges the need for compelling evidence to be combined with respect and sensitivity toward participation in this drama. 
Goldstein concludes The Sexual Exploitation of Children by identifying law enforcement flaws, such as the lack of interjurisdictional and inter-department communication, coordination, information sharing, and cooperation within and across national boundaries, as well as inter-agency obstacles that must be removed to curb the rise in this crime. 
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Goldstein's book addresses not only the investigator's world but that of the child protection professional, clinical worker, and academician researcher, or expert witness. 
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-Rosy A. Ekpenyong
Michigan State University
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