PROVO — A former Brigham Young University professor who pleaded guilty to charges that he created and viewed child pornography was sentenced Tuesday to two years in jail.
Robert Bentley Jackson, 64, who was sentenced in 4th District Court on two second-degree felonies of sex exploitation of a minor, was ordered to serve two years in jail — one year for each count — as well as pay restitution.
Jackson was arrested in February after an individual tipped off police that Jackson was viewing videos on his computer of a 14-year-old girl undressing, according to court documents.
Jackson was an assistant professor of information systems in the Marriott School of Management at BYU and resigned after charges were filed.
The case was resolved through a plea agreement between the Utah County Attorney's Office and the Utah Attorney General's Office, said John Allan, Jackson's attorney.
Without pleading guilty, there was the possibility of federal charges of production of child pornography — a charge that carries a minimum mandatory sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.
"We are in agreement with the (sentencing) recommendation . . . of two consecutive terms of 365 days," said Donna Kelly, a deputy Utah County attorney, "but because of these crimes being so devastating to the family and the victim, we would also ask that the court order him to write a letter of apology to her in which he accepts responsibility for these crimes and apologizes for the crimes."
Allan told the judge his client had already written a letter of apology as part of sex-offender therapy but had been unable to send it because of an order not to contact the victim.
"Your honor, I take full responsibility," Jackson said quietly during the hearing on Tuesday. He also told the judge he was working to repair the breach of trust with his family.
Jackson is doing well in sex-offender therapy, Allan said. However, the jail does not allow therapy release, which allows inmates to leave jail for therapy, without work release, the program that lets inmates leave jail for work and then return at night.
Jackson was not granted work release and thus can't continue therapy. However, Allan said he may address that in a future motion to the court.
Allan also requested that the $7,500 bail and the family's two computers — which had been taken as evidence — be returned to the family, which Judge Samuel McVey granted.
McVey also ordered that Jackson have no access to pornography and that any Internet usage in the future be approved by Adult Probation and Parole during his 36 months of probation.
He was ordered to report to the jail Tuesday by 5 p.m.
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