A man who photographed children at the University’s childcare facilities in mid-November was arrested in Portland on Dec. 2 on Louisiana charges of aggravated incest, raising concerns among University officials about how the man’s criminal past went undetected.
Stephen Dale Jackson, 31, had several photography sessions with children at the Moss Street Children’s Center and the Westmoreland Child Care Center between Nov. 15 and Nov. 23.
The children were always accompanied by another adult, Vice President for Student Affairs Anne Leavitt said in a Dec. 8 interview. University officials “are quite certain that no inappropriate behavior” occurred during the sessions, but they have sent e-mails to parents asking them to watch their children for warning signs.
“As far as we know, there has been no misconduct or crime committed — there’s just an anxiety,” Leavitt said. “We’re worried because of who he was in another community, not because of really anything he’s done here.”
Leavitt said the University did not have a contract with Jackson and did not pay him. The University did not perform a background check on Jackson, Leavitt said, because the University does not conduct background checks on parents and family members using child-care center services.
Leavitt said the state has extensive policies regarding the security and accessibility of child-care facilities and the University always abides by them.
“They’re state mandated,” Leavitt said. “We follow them to the letter.”
Jackson was a member of the University’s child-care community, living in family housing with a family that used the child-care center’s services, Leavitt said, adding that he also had parent references, business cards and examples of his work.
“It never occurred to us that a member of our own community that would offer a service like this would end up being a person who we wouldn’t want to have near children,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt said University officials will meet to discuss how a man wanted on felony charges gained access to the center and how to prevent it in the future. They are also going to review procedures at other universities, she said.
Parents of the children photographed alerted the University after they unsuccessfully attempted to contact Jackson to obtain the photos. Leavitt said proofs of the photos were sent to about 100 families, but nobody was able to get in contact with Jackson to order reprints.
The University and the Eugene Police Department have not been able to locate any of the photos taken by Jackson and are still searching for them, Leavitt said.
“One of the outstanding concerns for us is, ‘Where are the photographs?’” Leavitt said.
As many as 200 children may have been photographed, from infants to
11-year-olds, Leavitt said.
In an e-mail sent to parents by EMU Child Care Center Coordinator Dennis Reynolds, who approved the photography arrangements with Jackson, parents were asked to look for common warning signs of child sexual abuse. Parents should look for children acting out in sexually suggestive behavior, displaying anxiety about separation and showing sudden nervousness around strangers.
“The University is committed to the highest standards of security and accountability and is taking every precaution to ensure that photographers and photographic sessions and other activities will be conducted according to these standards,” Reynolds wrote.
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