Amanda Lyn Walker, Enabling Child Abuse, Oklahoma 2021

A 42-year-old Tulsa woman has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for enabling the abuse of a 3-year-old child, a crime that took place on the Muskogee Nation Reservation.

A federal jury found Amanda Lyn Walker guilty of two counts of enabling acts of child abuse in Indian Country on June 23, 2021. Her boyfriend, Craig Allan Morrison, was also found guilty of two counts of child abuse in Indian Country but is still awaiting sentencing on January 14.

U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said Amanda Walker lied to family and law enforcement about the abuse inflicted on the child by Morrison. Johnson commended the pediatric staff at Saint Francis Hospital for their thorough examination of the victim and dedication to protecting children.

During the trial, the jury received evidence describing two separate instances of child abuse involving the 3-year-old child. Prosecutors contended that Walker ignored the abuse, allowed it to continue, and chose to protect her boyfriend instead of the child.

The first incident took place on or about December 20, 2019, when other family members observed and photographed a hand-shaped bruise on the child’s face. Walker told a relative that Morrison had hit the child in the face while sleeping due to a “night terror” and that the child’s other bruises were from falls. The relative also reported several other examples where Walker allowed Morrison to mistreat the child, including shoving food into the child’s mouth, causing him to choke.

Walker was further warned by one of Morrison’s family members in text messages to distance herself from Morrison because he was dangerous. The family member also reported that Morrison said the child cried for no reason, so Morrison gave the child reason to cry.

The second incident took place on or about February 18, 2020, when the victim was taken to the Saint Francis Hospital Pediatric Emergency Room with injuries and extensive bruising to the child’s head, back, shoulder, abdomen, buttocks, and leg. Laboratory testing showed elevated liver enzymes and elevated amylase. A pediatrician who treated the victim testified that these laboratory tests indicated liver and pancreatic injuries and that the child’s injuries showed the child had suffered blunt force trauma and were the result of child abuse.

The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melody Noble Nelson and Chantelle D. Dial prosecuting the case.

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