Glenwood former doctor receives 18 life sentences in Pike County for sexually assaulting 12 children

A former Arkansas doctor was sentenced to 18 life sentences in Pike County on Wednesday for the sexual assault of 12 children, the special prosecutor said.

Barry Alan Walker, 58, of Glenwood still faces 21 similar charges in Clark County -- where a special hearing has been set with a judge today.

Walker pleaded guilty to all his Pike County charges Wednesday, which included one for drugs and guns found on his property.

Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner said four of the 18 life sentences are to be served consecutively. The rest are to be served concurrently. The sentences do not have an option for parole.

"All of the Pike County cases have been fully resolved at this point," Turner said.

He said Walker received the maximum penalty for each of the convictions.

"It was important to me and law enforcement that we seek the full measure of justice that we could for these," Turner said. "It was important that we tell them [victims] that this was the maximum sentence."

Six of the 12 victims provided impact statements to the court Wednesday, Turner said. He said nine of the victims are still minors.

"I didn't want these girls to relive this abuse," Turner said. "But I wanted them to be able to have a voice and tell the judge and the defendant, 'Here's how your actions have impacted me.'"

Walker was charged with 132 felony charges involving 31 children in Pike and Clark counties following a June arrest.

The victims were between the ages of 4 and 14 at the time of the crimes, Turner said previously. The crimes stretch from 1997 to 2021.

Turner said he has since dropped all charges that involved downloaded pornography from the internet. Any charge involving a Pike County or Clark County victim has remained, he said.

One of the rape charges was changed to sexual assault in the second degree because after further research it was determined the victim was not penetrated, he said. He said the change was not made because of a plea deal.

The recent investigation found the 31 victims were often assaulted, including rape in some incidents, multiple times at one of two residences located in Amity and Glenwood, according to court records. Some of the victims appear to be asleep or sedated in videos or photographs, per the documents. Many of the victims witnessed abuse over a span of years, with the longest time period being six years, records show.

Some victims disclosed to police during the investigation that they remembered the assaults while others did not, the affidavits state. Walker also admitted to police that he raped or assaulted some of the victims while denying involvement in others, the records state.

Walker previously spent nine months in prison for sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl in 1999, according to court records. His medical license was revoked in 2000, according to the Arkansas Medical Board.

He was convicted of two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in Sebastian County for the 1999 crime.

An affidavit filed with the 2000 charges says Walker attended a dinner party at a friend's residence in February 1999.

"At one point in the evening Dr. Walker went into the library to work on [redacted name] computer," the affidavit states. "The eight-year-old came into the library to play a computer game."

The affidavit states Walker pulled the girl's shorts and underwear down, unzipped his pants and pulled her against him. It also states that Walker had rubbed her genitals on two other occasions.

He was granted a plea deal of five years of incarceration with a five-year suspended sentence for the 1999 crimes.

Because of jail and prison overcrowding, Walker was allowed a delayed report to the Arkansas Department of Corrections because he wasn't a flight risk, a court document states. He remained released on a $20,000 bond.

Arkansas Department of Corrections records show he came into custody in June 2000 and was released March 2001, according to department communications director Cindy Murphy. He remained on parole until March 2005, she said.

One of the incidents happened in 1997 prior to his arrest for the 1999 crime, records show. Affidavits state that another girl was allegedly assaulted multiple times by Walker between 1997 and October 1999 while he was awaiting trial for the 1999 charges.

Four victims were allegedly assaulted multiple times by Walker between 2001 and 2005, while he was on parole, affidavits show.

The alleged incidents continued after his parole, with victims being assaulted nearly every year, records show.

Four females have been identified as victims in 2020 and 2021, according to the records.