PROVO — A former Brigham Young University professor accused of recording and viewing a video of a young girl undressing, was formally presented with charges Friday morning in 4th District Court.
Robert Bentley Jackson, 63, faces one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and two charges of voyeurism, a class A misdemeanor.
Jackson was arrested Feb. 16 and bailed out of jail the next day. He resigned Feb. 17 from his position as an assistant professor of information systems in the Marriott School of Management, BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said.
Acting on a tip, Provo police had approached Jackson at his home Feb. 16, then took him to the police station, where Jackson allegedly admitted to having videos on his laptop computer showing a naked 14-year-old girl.
According to court documents, Jackson told police he was sexually aroused by the videos and thus kept them on the computer.
Police confiscated the BYU-owned laptop and reported finding one video and continued looking for others.
Jackson's attorney, John Allan, requested an extension before the next court date in order to get all the evidence, including the alleged pornographic videos.
Judge Lynn Davis granted the extension and set the next court appearance for March 28 at 10 a.m.
Jackson left the court building quickly after talking with his lawyer.
"This is trying for everyone involved," Allan said after the hearing. "Obviously these are just allegations. You never know what will happen, we'll just have to wait and see."
Criminal cases involving pornography are a wake-up call, says Ron Hammond, a sociology professor at Utah Valley State College, who works to promote treatment for pornography addiction.
"I would argue that porn really is a drug," Hammond said. "Even though it's not ingested into the body, it's just as potent in the brain as crack cocaine, meth or heroin. The difference is . . . the porn addict becomes very secretive and appears not to have problems."
The addiction is so destructive because it not only affects the individual consuming the visual stimulants but also wives, children, co-workers and communities.
"When people say, 'Hey, it's just fun, it's not hurting anybody,' the problem with that statement is we don't know when it starts to . . . hurt somebody."
To prevent bigger problems, Hammond counseled those who know of friends, family members or co-workers who struggle with an addiction to confront the individual and get involved in helping them make a change.
"We can see how meth has caused hundreds of thousands of addicts," Hammond said. "Very few people who use meth walk away from it. But tens of thousands of people who use porn walk away from it."
E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com