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. "This defendant took things from these victims that can never be returned. It was important for us to provide the full measure of justice to each victim that the law would allow."
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 re-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.
"I recognize when the courthouse lights are turned off, it is not over for these girls," Turner said. "They will be dealing with this for the rest of their lives."
Turner said a grant was secured to help defer costs of counseling for the victims.
"The path of destruction paved by Barry Walker over the last 25 years has devastated countless victims and families, and perhaps many others that we may not be aware of," Turner said in a press release. "It is my prayer that these victims can begin to heal and move past these horrible events. My office will continue to assist victims moving forward and I would encourage anyone with information or needs related to these cases or this Defendant to contact my office or appropriate law enforcement agencies."
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 His medical license was revoked in 2000, according to the Arkansas Medical Board.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.
At the time of his arrest in June, Walker was president of All Pro Contracting out of Glenwood, the Arkansas secretary of state website shows. He also ran other companies still in good standing such as Bear Lake Property Investments and Walker Capital Group Bella Vista.
Dissolved companies he's owned include Walker Landscaping and Irrigation, Computer Partners, ER services and PB&B.
Walker also appeared to have ambitions to one day work in the medical field after having his license revoked, per court records.
This includes a failed attempt to get a pardon from then-Gov. Mike Huckabee along with other failed attempts to be removed from the sexual offender list, all with the legal assistance of a relative, incoming District 9W County Prosecutor Jana Bradford, according to court records.
A court order shows Turner was assigned as special prosecutor for the recent charges because of the close relation Bradford has to Walker.
Court records show Walker filed for executive clemency to Huckabee in August 2004. In the application, Walker explained his crime in details that were similar to those in the affidavit.
"I would like a second chance to be a fully active citizen of this state and practice medicine again in rural Arkansas," Walker wrote in the application.
He also wrote in the application that he had a ticket for driving while intoxicated in Garland County in June 2001, months after his release from prison and while on parole.
In the application, stamped in 2004, Walker also listed a 3-year-old daughter as living at his residence. Previous time in the Army and Air Force is written on the application as well.
Turner, who started as a deputy prosecutor in Pulaski County in 1997, said he's never experienced another case like this one.
"The length of time that these offenses were going on and just the scope of the case," Turner said. "It is hard to deal with that many victims and you can't really wrap your mind around the trauma."
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.