A prosecutor in rural Arkansas whose uncle is one of the state’s most dangerous pedophiles has been accused of “actively working to protect himself”.
Jana Bradford, a 54-year-old married mother of two, currently serves as the District Attorney for Arkansas’ West 9th Circuit.
Her uncle Barry Walker, 59, was arrested in June 2022 after hundreds of homemade videos of him raping girls ages two to 14 were found at his home in Glenwood, Arkansas.
Walker, a former Air Force flight surgeon, pleaded guilty to molesting at least 31 girls since 1997 and was sentenced to multiple life terms in October 2022.
His girlfriend, brother and another niece have been criminally charged with covering him up to varying degrees. All live in the small town of 2,200 that Bradford is representing as prosecutor.
Now the spotlight is on Bradford, who for 20 years has been trying to help her uncle with legal issues after he was first convicted of sexually abusing a child in 2000 and trying to clear his name.
Jana Bradford worked for 20 years to clear her uncle’s name and is now being named in a civil lawsuit alleging that she and other relatives protected him to protect her campaign for local prosecutor
Barry Walker is considered one of the worst pedophiles Arkansas has ever known after hundreds of homemade videos of him raping girls between the ages of two and 14 were found at his home in Glenwood, Arkansas.
In 2004, Bradford helped her uncle seek a pardon. It was rejected
A civil suit has been filed alleging a cover-up by Walker’s “inner circle,” including Bradford.
“In a small town in Arkansas, you don’t rape that many girls that often unless someone steps in for you,” said David Carter, a Texarkana attorney who represents at least 14 of the victims or their parents and guardians.
The case alleges that Walker’s actions were covered up by relatives in order to protect Bradford’s election campaign and become a prosecutor.
She was elected in May 2022 – 16 days before her uncle’s home was finally searched.
Bradford strongly denied doing anything to protect her uncle and insisted that after his initial conviction she was unaware that he had sexually abused children.
“Ms. Bradford categorically denies that she knew of Barry Walker molesting children or that she did anything to hide his depraved behavior,” said her attorney, Erin Casinelli.
“As Ms Bradford was not even aware of Barry Walker’s ongoing criminal activities, she certainly cannot be held responsible for his actions and the damage he has caused.”
Cassinelli said all of the lawsuit’s claims about Bradford were “absolutely false” and had not been verified or supported by factual evidence.
Bradford has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
The special prosecutor overseeing the Walker and related cases, who was appointed in part because of Bradford’s conflicts of interest, said a criminal investigation into “secondary targets” was still ongoing.
Walker was convicted of two counts of sexually abusing a child in 2000 – namely, assaulting an eight-year-old girl in the library of her family’s home when Walker and his then-wife were invited to the home for dinner.
He was sentenced to five years in prison and his wife divorced him.
Walker served less than a year of his sentence and was paroled early for good behavior.
In 2004, Bradford helped him petition Governor Mike Huckabee for a pardon on the grounds that he wanted to be allowed to practice medicine again. Huckabee declined.
As a condition of his release, Walker – who remained a convicted sex offender – was ordered to be accompanied at all times in the presence of children.
But according to the lawsuit, he blatantly flouted the law — and Bradford and others turned a blind eye.
The lawsuit, obtained by NBC News, alleges that she and other family members regularly “saw prepubescent women cruising around Glenwood in Barry’s truck, horseback riding with Barry at the fairgrounds, hanging out at Barry’s house, and sleeping regularly,” but they did nothing to intervene.
Walker is seen in October 2022 and is serving 39 life sentences with no possibility of parole
Bradford wrote a letter on behalf of Walker in 2014, denying allegations that he had molested a four-year-old girl. The charges were dropped
At weekly family gatherings, Bradford and at least two of Walker’s siblings discussed “how odd it was that Barry was always around young girls,” despite being a registered sex offender, according to the lawsuit.
He was charged several times and yet remained free.
He was accused of child abuse in 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014, according to police and the Sex Offenders Assessment Report.
In 2014, Walker was arrested and jailed after a four-year-old girl accused him of sexual abuse.
Bradford and other family members posted $25,000 bail, hired an attorney for him, paid his employees and kept his construction company afloat, the lawsuit says.
Bradford, as a private attorney, wrote a letter to the prosecutor presenting his case.
The charges were dropped.
In 2018, Bradford wrote asking for her uncle to be removed from the sex offender registry.
Cassinelli, her attorney, said the letters were sent “in her capacity as a private attorney” and “regarded routine matters handled by attorneys for clients in jurisdictions across the country.”
Bradford tried to get her uncle removed from the sex offender register in 2018
“There is no basis for her being held responsible for the actions of anyone else as a result,” he added.
Carter, the attorney representing the victims in the civil suit, claims Bradford has been aware of various reports of sexual abuse against her uncle over the years.
“She has been actively working to protect her uncle from these allegations since she was an assistant district attorney,” he said.
In that case, Bradford said in her 2018 letter that her uncle was not dangerous.
The lawsuit states that this line “may be the most false claim ever made in a lawsuit filed in the state of Arkansas.”