Cops: Foster dad admits sex acts: Deltona man says he took photos of himself, 3-year-old.
By Kristen Reed
A foster parent already in jail on charges of possessing child pornography faces additional charges after investigators say they discovered photographs that show him performing sex acts on a 3-year-old foster child.
Volusia County sheriff's investigators say Robert R. Clinton, 51, admitted he took more than 40 pictures of the young girl, who was placed in his Deltona home for two weeks last summer. Many of the pictures showed both Clinton and the girl nude and involved in sex acts, investigators say.
Clinton now faces charges of sexual battery and promoting a sexual performance by a child. He already has been charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography on his computer.
Clinton is the second foster parent in west Volusia County to be charged with a sex crime in the past three months, and social-services officials say they are reviewing their policies to see whether anything can be done to prevent a recurrence.
Ron Zychowski, president and CEO of Community Partnership for Children, said fewer than 1 percent of children in the state's foster-care system report any abuse or neglect.
"This is by far and away not common," he said.
Social-services agencies say Clinton, who has been licensed as a foster parent with his wife since June, didn't raise any red flags. His extensive application process included a background check, FBI criminal history, references and an in-home interview.
"He appeared to be an upstanding individual who was truly interested in working with children and getting them back to their parents," said Gordon Johnson, president and CEO of Neighbor to Family, the agency that placed foster children in the Clintons' home. Since June, the two have cared for 14 children whose ages range from an infant to 17 years old.
All but one of the children have been interviewed, officials said, and none has reported additional abuse.
Robert Clinton's application with the Department of Children and Families was not available Thursday.
"We feel terrible about this," Johnson said. "It's just unconscionable to think someone would have the devious mind to do something like this."
Clinton's wife, Betty, told a reporter Thursday she was surprised by the accusations against her husband. She would not comment further, saying she had to find out more information about his latest charges.
She told social workers she was resigning her duties as a foster parent and would seek a divorce, according to records.
Investigators began looking at Robert Clinton when the Internet portal Yahoo reported sexually explicit photos to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He was questioned Feb. 1 and allowed investigators to search his computer and camera after admitting he had downloaded pornographic images and taken photos of the young girl.
He told investigators he never harmed the child and said he knew what he did was wrong, according to an arrest report.
After investigators left his Fair Oaks Drive home, Clinton apparently tried to commit suicide by sitting in his closed garage with his car running, the report states. He was briefly committed for a mental-health evaluation.
Five days later, he was arrested on the child-porn charges, which stemmed from a collection of 33 photos showing young girls involved in sex acts with men.
The latest charges arose from another collection of photos Clinton said he took of himself with the young girl from June 29 to July 14.
Johnson, with Neighbor to Family, said the girl and her two siblings were returned to their mother last year.
The other case involved foster parent George Allen Goolde of Orange City, who was charged with molesting three boys. The former president of the Volusia/Flagler Foster-Adoptive Parent Association admitted he had inappropriate contact with the children.