Former Wheat Ridge teacher Marshall Adam Walker was found guilty today of 35 counts of coercing three young teenage boys into posing nude.
Jefferson County District Court Judge Jane Tidball decided that prosecutors proved that Walker, 33, was guilty of 30 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of enticement of a child and three counts of unlawful sexual contact.
Testimony during the two-day trial revealed that Walker befriended the boys while he taught at Bell and Everitt middle schools, taking them hunting or shooting and then asking them to remove clothing so he could take photos and videos.
The Denver Post does not ordinarily publish the names of victims of sexual crimes, but one of the boys who is now 17 consented to having his name made public.
“Way relieved,” Danny Buschkoetter said of how he felt when Tidball found Walker guilty. “The coolest part was seeing him taken away in handcuffs.”
Tidball increased Walker’s bond from $10,000 to $20,000. His attorney, Harvey Steinberg, said he doesn’t have the money so Walker was taken into custody.
Walker will be sentenced April 27. He faces four to 12 years in prison on each of the 30 charges of sexual exploitation of a child, two to six years in prison up to mandatory lifetime supervisory parole on each of the two enticement of a child charges and two to six years in prison for each of the three unlawful sexual contact charges.
“I hope he never see the light of day out of prison,” Buschkoetter said.
Walker also faces similar charges in Adams County.
Walker waived his right to a jury trial, choosing to have his case decided by a judge. Steinberg said it was the first time in his 27 years of practicing law that he took that option since case details were highly sensitive and the legal points were technical.
“It was a difficult case,” Steinberg said.
Buschkoetter and his father, Stan, said it is important for child victims of people such as Walker to tell an adult what happened and for their parents to listen.
“If it happens,” Buschkoetter said, “you’re not in the wrong.”
