Coralville man charged with sexually abusing teen

A Coralville man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of third-degree sexual abuse and distribution of a controlled substance to a person under the age of 18 on Wednesday.

Clifton T. Walker, 29, is accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old female on five separate occasions throughout March and April. Walker was allegedly aware of the female's age at the time, and also provided her with marijuana, Coralville police say.

Officers were sent to Walker's residence after receiving a call from the female's parents, police say.

According to Coralville police chief Barry Bedford, the female's parents had been informed about the sexual incidents after friends and acquaintances of their daughter had contacted them about postings the 14-year-old had made on Facebook involving Walker.

According to court records, Walker has been in trouble with the law before. In 1999, Walker was sentenced for his role in the 1998 beating and murder of Iowa City resident Frank Boyd, whose body was discovered burned in a Johnson County ditch Aug. 7, 1998.

Walker and three other men were arrested in connection to the murder. Walker initially pleaded guilty to perjury and obstruction charges. He later pleaded guilty to charges of willful injury, conspiracy and facilitation charges as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

In May 2007, Walker was discharged from prison on supervised work release, which ended in December 2007, Iowa Department of Corrections records indicate.

Walker was being held in the Johnson County Jail on a $75,000 cash only bond on Thursday morning.

Third degree sexual abuse and distribution of a controlled substance to a person under the age of 18 are class C felonies. Each are punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.