Pike County Arkansas prosecuting attorney Jana Bradford is being sued for sex trafficking children. The civil lawsuit that Walker predicted from behind bars alleges his family and associates failed to notify authorities about Walker’s obvious issues and despite knowing about his 2000 conviction for sexual abuse of an eight-year-old girl in Sebastian County.

Prosecutor Jana Bradford and her mother, Joyce Perser, among other family members have been implicated in a civil lawsuit filed in Clark County by the victims of convicted serial child rapist Barry Alan Walker of Glenwood. The lawsuit that was originally filed Oct. 25, 2022 was amended on Nov. 15, 2022 to add more plaintiffs, and again on Feb. 15 to include Bradford and Joyce Perser, Bradford’s mother and Walker’s sister, as defendants.

“Bradford lived a literal stone’s throw from a house where more than a dozen girls between the ages of 4 and 14 were raped and/or sexually assaulted hundreds of times by Bradford’s own uncle. You’re telling me that at no point–despite having a daughter of her own who was born in 2005–did Bradford have any suspicions or clues about what Walker was doing mere yards from her own home?,” asked Matt Campbell at Blue Hog. Bradford, a deputy prosecuting attorney in the 9th West Judicial District of Arkansas is a mandated reporter of child maltreatment under Arkansas Code 12-18-402.

“Bradford reportedly refused to leave their own young daughters alone with Barry or spend the night at his house.” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit filed in Clark County Circuit Court is 164 pages long and claims Bradford and other family members “circled the wagons” to defend Walker and keep his businesses operating. Defendants are accused of knowing that children were being sexually abused and of covering the abuse for monetary gain.

Bradford is being sued in her individual capacity only and is not being sued in her capacity as a deputy prosecuting attorney or as the current elected prosecutor of the 9th West Judicial District, according to the lawsuit. Bradford was elected in May 2022 and began her four-year term in January.

Pike County District Attorney, Jana Bradford and Barry Walker are cousins. Jana Bradford has a history of protecting drug dealers, child rapists, and murderers that most locals will not talk much about, but some locals are speaking out:

Eleven of Walker’s victims are the current plaintiffs with some listed as being represented by an adult due to their minor status. They are seeking millions of dollars from Walker’s businesses that they claimed were used by Walker to “finance his deviate sexual desires”.

Once Walker was caught and in the Pike County jail, he predicted civil lawsuits against him and the need to secure his finances against those lawsuits, as evident in jailhouse recordings between him and his brother. The lawsuit claims Walker then began “scheming to hide assets, conduct unreported cash sales of assets” and transfer assets to other properties, then conceal the proceeds from sale – a move described in the lawsuit as “attempting to re-rape” the victims.

In 2020, Walker began moving assets out of his personal name and under Bear Lake, filing four quitclaim deeds with no monetary exchange. This June, Barry and Bryce Walker “entered into a conscious agreement, civil conspiracy and common plan to defraud” the victims by “scheming to hide assets, conduct unreported cash sales of assets” and transfer assets to other properties, then to hide the proceeds from sales.

In October 2022, Walker plead guilty in both Pike and Clark counties to 32 counts of rape; 27 counts of computer exploitation of a child; 28 counts of producing, directing or promoting a sexual performance by a child; 28 counts of engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual print medium; one count of second-degree sexual assault; one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute; one count of possession of firearms by a certain person; and one count of possessing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.

Walker’s victim list totaled 31. Investigators uncovered troves of evidence in the case. Walker had video recorded and photographed each of his rapes and cataloged the crimes using the victims’ first names to index the files on hard drives. He often drugged his young victims with sleep aids and many times committed the crimes in the presence of other children.

Walker was sentenced to 39 consecutive life sentences in Pike and Clark counties.

In 2001, Walker was granted parole following an assessment that determined what he needed to do to “reduce the risk of re-offending.” Walker returned to near his home in Glenwood and, according to case files, gradually stopped following the recommendations of the assessment and began to drink alcohol and being alone with prepubescent females.

Walker is not the only family member that Bradford has protected.

The lawsuit claims all the defendants knew Walker had relapsed but did not report his behavior despite them all regularly seeing Walker with young females in his truck or riding horses or spending the night at his home.

The lawsuit also contends Walker’s behavior had been discussed at a weekly family meeting and that Bryce Walker and Bradford reportedly refused to leave their own young daughters alone with Barry or spend the night at his house.

“Unfortunately, neither Bryce Walker nor Jana Bradford took any steps to protect other prepubescent females from Barry Walker,” including his own.

It is noted in the lawsuit that “at all material times, Jana Bradford was a deputy prosecuting attorney in the Ninth West Judicial District of Arkansas and was a mandated reporter of child maltreatment” under state law. The suit also noted Bryce Walker, who is a public school employee, is also a mandated reporter of such treatment.

Bradford is being sued in her individual capacity only and is not being sued in her capacity as a former deputy prosecutor or as the current elected Ninth West prosecutor, according to case files.

The lawsuit further claims that between 2001 and 2022 many reports were made to law enforcement about Walker’s maltreatment of young females and that each defendant knew about the investigations, with Bradford said to have known “specific details” of each case. After his arrest for a case involving a four-year-old girl in 2014, the lawsuit said Walker’s family bonded him out of jail and “circled the wagons” to defend him and keep one of his businesses afloat.

Plaintiffs lay blame on all the defendants for coddling and enabling Walker’s conduct because he was a successful businessman “and the entire Walker family benefited from his success.” The suit contends from 2009 to 2022 many Walker family members and friends worked or volunteered at Walker’s businesses and they failed to report him to authorities “because he was a source of income to them.”

Bradford’s past efforts to defend Walker are mentioned in the lawsuit. In 2004, Walker had a pardon request, filed by Bradford, denied by former governor Mike Huckabee. Bradford also attempted to have Walker removed from the state’s sex offender registry in 2018 but the petition failed and, according to the lawsuit, failed to mention his history and noted Walker was “not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others.”

In April 2022, the lawsuit claims Walker had begun “messing with” two young females and that Cox and her father first informed Bryce, and then Joyce Perser, who both allegedly said they could not report Barry before Bradford’s election date to become prosecutor, which she won in a May 2022 contested race.

Arkansas man accused of multiple crimes against children.58-year-old Barry Walker was convicted of dozens of counts of rape of a minor, computer exploitation of a child, producing/directing the sexual performance of a child, and engaging a child in explicit conduct. According to Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner, Walker’s victims were as young as two years old.(kark.com)

Barry Alan Walker of Glenwood, Arkansas was charged with 34 counts of rape, 29 counts of computer child exploitation, 28 counts of producing directing, or promoting a sexual performance by a child, and 29 counts of engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in a visual or print medium. 

Defendants:

Prosecutor, Jana Bradford has been implicated in a civil lawsuit filed in Clark County by the victims of convicted serial child rapist Barry Alan Walker of Glenwood.

Barry Walker was convicted and sentenced to 39 life sentences for sex crimes against children.

Listed along with other defendants, two of Barry Walker’s businesses: All Pro Contracting, Inc., and Bear Lake Property Investments, LLC.

Brandy Cox, Walker’s property manager and niece of Barry Walker, was arrested on felony charges connected to the case.

Bryce Walker, Barry Walker’s brother, and employee at Hot Springs School District was arrested for failure to report by a mandated reporter, a Class A misdemeanor.

Joyce Perser, Bradford’s mother

Lori Cogburn, Walker’s longtime girlfriend is listed as a defendant.

A second victim in Cogburn’s case, identified in court records as Juvenile #6, spent nights alone with Walker after the 2014 investigation, and, according to an affidavit, Cogburn allowed this behavior. (Ed.: Just to clarify, The Arkadelphian would not identify victims even if their names or initials were available.) “Ms. Cogburn failed to take any action to prevent the abuse of the two minor children even though she knew or should have known Barry Walker was raping them,” the affidavit notes. A civil lawsuit naming Cogburn as among several defendants who helped Walker conceal the rapes notes that Cogburn was Walker’s girlfriend since 1992. Walker was first convicted in a 2000 case involving sexual indecency with a minor.

This is a story that we are going to follow closely. Clark County Prosecuting Attorney, Dan Turner is still gathering evidence.

Charges in Pike County, Arkansas include allegations of sexual assault against four separate minor children. One is reported to be a female minor child. It is possible that there are three more child victims in Pike County, Arkansas. A Criminal information request was filed against Walker in Pike County Circuit Court for allegations involving seven separate children.  Nine additional charges related to 9 other children were made in Clark County, Arkansas. It is possible that there are more child victims in Clark County Arkansas. Charges include rape, computer exploitation of a child in the first degree, producing, directing, or promoting a sexual performance by a child, engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in a visual or print medium, and distributing, possessing, or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.

Walker has been raping children since 1997 and getting away with it. At one time, he was a doctor, and in 1999, he lost his license to practice because of sexual misconduct with a child in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Walker has been raping children since 1997 and getting away with it. At one time, he was a doctor, and in 1999, he lost his license to practice because of sexual misconduct with a child in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Sheriff Jason Watson with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office at (870) 223-3860.

Minding Hearts is building advocacy and peer support groups in each state.  The groups are created to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for those that might not otherwise be heard. We are here for encouragement, education, and support. We are here to support families and develop resources that maintain family integrity. We look forward to your support. If you would rather become active by donating, then visit the donation page.