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Assisting individuals in a broad spectrum of legal matters In New Jersey Since 1955

Joseph Del Russo

Joseph Del Russo graduated from Rutgers University School of Law. Mr. Del Russo is the former Chief Assistant Prosecutor of the Special Victims Unit in the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.

Joseph is one of the foremost experts in sex cases in the State of New Jersey. His expertise includes sexual assaultsexual contact, child abuse cases, child pornography cases, all aspects of Megan’s Law.

Mr. Del Russo is a founder and Co-Director of the Child First/Finding Words program in New Jersey, which trains detectives, municipal police, child protection workers, mental health professionals, physicians, sexual assault nurse examiners and other family violence professionals on a protocol for conducting forensically defensible interviews. He also drafts curricula and has been a trainer in New Jersey’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) since 2005. Out of those accomplishments, Del Russo is most proud of spearheading the Childs First/Finding Words Forensic Interviewing Training Academy.

“This training has become the de facto basic training for child abuse prosecutors throughout New Jersey,” Del Russo said. “We also provide ongoing guidance to all 21 counties, and have been cited approvingly by the Supreme Court.”

In Addition, he is a professor at the Robert D. McCormick Center for Child Advocacy at Montclair State University since 2008.

Education, Memberships & More

Legal

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor Degree, May 1987

Undergraduate

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, May 1983

Academic Appointments:

MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY
Little Falls, New Jersey
Adjunct Professor, Summer 2000 to Present.

BERKELEY COLLEGE
West Paterson, New Jersey
Adjunct Professor, Autumn 1993 to 1999.

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Adjunct Professor, Summer 1993 to 1998.

Certifications:

DIVISION CRIMINAL JUSTICE-POLICE TRAINING COMM’N
Trenton, New Jersey

Certified Instructor
American Prosecutor’s Research Institute

Certified Interviewer – Child Sexual Abuse Investigative Interviews.
Appointments: 2000-2001

President
American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children- New Jersey
1995 to 2002

Board of Directors
American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children- New Jersey
December 1995

Attorney General-State of New Jersey
Subcommittee on Development of Protocol for Multi-Disciplinary
Approach to Community Notification Pursuant to Megan’s Laws.
August 1995

Attorney General-State of New Jersey Subcommittee on
Development of Megan’s Law Risk Assessment Scale.

Professional

Memberships: Co-Director,

  • Child First/Finding Words-New Jersey, Zero Abuse Project Forensic Interview Training Project
  • New Jersey Task Force on Abuse and Neglect- Protection

Subcommittee (Past)

  • Founding Member: American Professional Society on the Abuse of
  • Children (APSAC-NJ) -New Jersey Chapter (Past)

Publications:

Del Russo, Joseph

  • Strategies for the Effective Utilization of the Child Sexual Abuse
  • Accommodation Syndrome in the Criminal Sexual Abuse Trial
  • NJ Advisor-APSAC Spring 2000

Witt, Del Russo, Oppenheim, and Ferguson

  • Sex Offender Risk Assessment and the Law
  • The Journal of Psychiatry and the Law – Fall 1996
  • Honors: New Jersey Child Abuse Prevention Award 2003 Princeton, NJ
  • NJ Child Abuse Prevention
  • President’s Honor Roll- Chicago, IL– National Colloquium 2000
  • American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children

Call Us Today

Your initial consultation will take place over the phone, and you can schedule an appointment at one of our office locations across New Jersey.

(908) 561-5577

Recent Case Results

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March 29, 2025

Simple Assault Charges Dropped

by Christopher G. Aiello

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Driving While Revoked Charges Dropped

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March 29, 2025

Drug Charges Dropped

by Christopher G. Aiello