Tulsa Man Sentenced for Abusing a 3-Year-old Child
TULSA, OK -- A Tulsa man responsible for abusing a three-year-old child was sentenced Friday in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Chief U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III sentenced Craig Allan Morrison, 37, to 25 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.
A federal jury found Morrison guilty of two counts of child abuse in Indian Country and his girlfriend, Amanda Lyn Walker, 42, guilty of two counts of enabling acts of child abuse in Indian Country. Walker was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Jan. 10, 2022.
Federal prosecutors argued that, based on the facts of the case, an appropriate sentence for Morrison would be 25 years in federal prison. In court documents and proceedings, prosecutors explained the child was severely beaten but also suffered severe mental trauma resulting from the time he lived with Morrison and Walker. According to victim impact statements, the child initially hid in closets, avoided eye contact, was scared of taking baths and would scream in terror, and did not like being held or consoled.
Prosecutors explained the long term impact of abuse was far greater for a child victim than it would be for an adult victim. They explained that because of the child’s age and stage of development, the aggravated assaults and trauma his body carries from the abuse would have a more significant and life-long impact on the child.
The couple went to trial in June 2021.
During the trial, the jury received evidence describing two separate instances of child abuse involving a then three-year-old child.
On Feb. 18, 2020, the couple took Walker’s then three-year-old-child to St Francis Hospital for injuries they claimed occurred after the child fell or jumped from his bed. Suspecting abuse, hospital staff contacted pediatricians who specialize in child abuse cases to further examine the child. The child was found to have extensive bruising to his head, back, shoulder, abdomen, buttocks, and leg. Also found were scabbed abrasions on his scalp and on the right side of his forehead. Laboratory testing further showed elevated liver enzymes and elevated amylase. One of the pediatricians who treated the child testified that the laboratory tests indicated liver and pancreatic injuries. She further explained that the child’s injuries showed the child had suffered blunt force trauma and were the result of child abuse. The victim remained at the hospital for five days for treatment.
During an investigation, Tulsa police officers learned of another incident that took place on or about Dec. 20, 2019, when family members observed and photographed a handshaped bruise on the child’s face. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, 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.
The crimes took place within the Muskogee Nation Reservation, and the minor is a citizen of the Comanche Nation.
The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melody Noble Nelson and Chantelle D.
Dial prosecuted the case.