ARKADELPHIA -- Former Glenwood doctor Barry Alan Walker was handed 21 life sentences Thursday in Clark County, one day after he received 18 life sentences in Pike County after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a total of 31 children, the prosecutor in the case said Thursday.
The children were between the ages of 4 and 14 when the sexual assaults, which included rape, took place between 1997 and 2021, according to court records.
"The pleas in Clark County and Pike County included the maximum sentence available on each count for each victim," stated Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner.
Turner said "life means life" in Arkansas and Walker will not have a chance for parole.
Five of the life sentences will run consecutively, he said.
Every victim supported the acceptance of Walker's plea, Turner said.
With more than 300 homemade videos and thousands of photographs found by investigators on Walker's property, a courtroom battle could have been traumatizing for some of the victims, Turner said.
Yet, each victim had the ability to provide an impact statement during both court hearings, Turner said.
Impact statements were provided by six of the victims Wednesday and eight victims Thursday.
Turner said a grant was secured to help defer costs of counseling for the victims.
There are some victims seen in videos and photos that have yet to be identified, Turner said Thursday.
Walker 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 His medical license was revoked in 2000, according to the Arkansas Medical Board.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 assaulted multiple times by Walker between 1997 and October 1999 while he was awaiting trial for the 1999 charges.
Four victims were assaulted multiple times by Walker between 2001 and 2005, while he was on parole, affidavits show.
The 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.
Turner, who started as a deputy prosecutor in Pulaski County in 1997, said he's never experienced another case like this one.
He said it took a team of individuals and organizations to tackle the case including those on his staff, investigator John Jones of the 9th West Judicial District Drug Task Force, Clark and Pike county sheriff's offices, Percy and Donna Malone Child Safety Center, Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center, Texarkana Children's Advocacy Center and Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness.