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Caseworker suspected earlier By Jonel Aleccia A former Jackson County caseworker charged with molesting developmentally disabled clients was accused of the same crime two years ago, an official confirmed Thursday. An internal investigation, however, was discontinued when the victim recanted. Local administrators did not forward the complaint to the state mental health division as required by law, according to Hank Collins, county health and human services director. "Of course, now we�re kicking ourselves," said Collins. "But hindsight is 20/20 and we�re sorry for it." Robert Forrest Jackson, 62, a former caseworker in the county developmental disability program, was indicted this week on 16 counts alleging that he sexually abused two clients. Jackson, of Talent, is charged with nine counts of first-degree sodomy and seven counts of first-degree sexual abuse. State police investigators have said they expect to find additional victims. In 1998, a 44-year-old male client reported that Jackson tried to engage him in mutual sexual touching, Collins confirmed Thursday. Two staff members were assigned to conduct an internal investigation. Jackson denied any impropriety and explained that he had been talking with the client about safe sexual practices as part of a new effort to prevent the spread of disease, including the virus that causes AIDS, among disabled people, Collins said. A week after the initial report, the client recanted the allegations and asked to be returned to Jackson�s caseload. The investigators filed an initial report, but did not forward information about the incident to the state. That was a violation of statutes enacted in 1996, according to Laura Lindberg, case management supervisor for the state developmental disabilities program. "What should have happened is it would have been reported to the county as the intake agency and then reported to the state agency,�� she said. "Because it involved a case manager, what we generally advise is for the counties to ask a neighboring county to investigate." Neither state nor local officials were able to confirm what penalty, if any, the county could face for not reporting the incident. Collins said the report was neglected in the crush of heavy workloads. "We should have written a report and sent it to the state, I�ll be the first to admit that," he said. "The only excuse I have for that is that we are overwhelmed with paperwork. When the client recanted, it went off our radar screen." Allegations of sexual abuse are rare among the developmental disability program�s 600 area clients, Collins said. Since Jackson retired suddenly July 23 and was arrested Aug. 2, Collins said, he has heard from several people who said they were suspicious of the caseworker. "My response has been, �Why haven�t you told us?" he said. "The people who worked most closely with Mr. Jackson have been shocked and outraged." It is his agency�s responsibility to monitor staff members� behavior and to report suspicious activity to the proper authorities, Collins acknowledged. "Everybody had the impression of a kindly man who truly cared about this population," Collins said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA