A Pottsville psychologist on Tuesday testified in Schuylkill County court that a Tamaqua man convicted of raping an 8-year-old boy in 2003 is progressing with treatment and should be released on parole.

But, Dr. Joseph Sheris said, Wayne J. Heffelfinger must remain under treatment and strict supervision, without any contact with children.Sheris in 2003 had evaluated Heffelfinger, determining him to be a sexually violent predator with a greater-than-average risk to reoffend.Since then, he said, Heffelfinger has "made some gains in treatment," and further jail time would be of "no benefit."The testimony came during a parole hearing before Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin.Following testimony from Sheris, and from Jehovah's Witness minister Michael J. Halm, Dolbin agreed to continue the hearing for two weeks.The delay was requested by Heffelfinger's attorney, Andrea Thompson, so she could meet with Heffelfinger's grandmother, with whom he would live if released.First District Attorney Maria Casey agreed to the continuance, saying she wanted the grandmother to testify, and also to understand how crucial it would be to not allow her three great-grandchildren, all under age 5, to not visit the house.Halm testified first, called by Thompson. He said he had been Heffelfinger's spiritual adviser for three years while Heffelfinger was an inmate at Rockview state prison in Centre County.Halm said he studied the Bible with Heffelfinger, and agreed with Thompson that Heffelfinger had come to understand the impact of his crime and was ready to change his life.The hearing was held because Heffelfinger, 27, asked the court for parole from a six-to-23 month sentence for violating the terms of a probation he was serving upon his release from state prison.Dolbin in August 2013 revoked the probation and sentenced Heffelfinger to spend up to 23 months in the county prison after Heffelfinger admitted having gone into the Tamaqua Public Library. The library was off-limits to Heffelfinger because it's a place where children gather.At the August hearing, Heffelfinger told the judge he only went to the library to read newspapers.Heffelfinger has about 18 months left to serve.In June 2004, Heffelfinger pleaded guilty to two counts each of forceable rape and indecent sexual intercourse; aggravated assault, aggravated indecent assault, voluntary deviate sexual intercourse, and unlawful restraint. Charges of statutory sexual assault and simple assault were withdrawn.According to court testimony and police documents, Heffelfinger, 16 at the time, offered the boy $50 to let him look at the boy's hideout in the woods.Once in the woods, Heffelfinger forced the boy to strip, threatening to choke him to death. He then sexually assaulted the boy, threatening to "hunt him down and kill him" if he told.The boy was forced to ride home on his bike, naked. His mother immediately called police.At a June 25, 2003 preliminary hearing, then-Tamaqua police Cpl. John O'Conner, lead investigator in the case, said he recognized the boy's description of Heffelfinger and knew he had been in other sex-related incidents.Heffelfinger, in khaki prison garb and handcuffed, listened but did not testify.