Shelby man indicted in federal court

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, October 5, 2005

A well-known member of the Shelby County homeschool community has been indicted by a federal grand jury for interstate transportation of children for illegal sex acts.

William Flynn Walker, 48, of Shelby, was charged in a seven-count indictment filed last week in U.S. District Court in Birmingham.

Walker is charged with transporting three different children across state lines between 1984 and 2004 and engaging in illegal sexual acts with them.

&uot;Anyone who lures children across state lines for sexual abuse will be charged to the fullest extent allowed by law,&uot; said U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin.

Walker is known in homeschool circles for his role in the founding of Evangel Christian School, a Helena-based organization formed as a ministry of Evangel Church, PCA.

However, church leaders refused to comment on Walker’s official role at the church or with the homeschool group.

If convicted on federal charges, Walker could face a maximum sentence of 130 years in prison and a fine of $1,750.

He also faces prosecution by the Shelby County District Attorney’s office, stemming from two sex-related charges filed in May.

Walker was arrested in Jefferson County, where he worked as a physician in Birmingham and charged with sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy.

The Shelby County D.A.’s office aided law enforcement officers from the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. District Attorney’s office in the federal investigation