By Julie Espinosa
A BYU professor resigned Friday afternoon, Feb 17, 2006, after being arrested on charges of voyeurism and exploitation of a minor.
Police took Robert Bentley Jackson, a professor of information systems, into custody Thursday evening after finding on his laptop a video clip of a minor in various stages of undress. Police also confiscated a video camera he supposedly rigged to record the minor. Jackson was released Friday morning after posting $7,500 bail.
“It is always an important case when minors are involved,” said Captain Rick Healey of the Provo Police Department. “That is why we took such immediate action.”
Healey said the computer was not taken from campus or from Bentley”s home.
“We are in the process of getting the computer ready for forensic evaluation,” Healey said. “We are also trying to see if there are other computers involved.”
Jackson, 63, has taught classes at BYU since 1988. He has been a visiting professor at several prestigious international universities. He received the Boy Scouts of America Sentinel Award in 1997 for service with the Boy Scouts in Provo.
BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said the university is cooperating with police and that provisions have been made for other professors to cover Jackson”s classes.
“This situation is of grave concern to us, and BYU is taking appropriate measures,” Jenkins said. “All BYU employees, as well as students, are expected to adhere to the Honor Code.”
(For comments, e-mail Julie Espinosa at )
