Former probation officer imprisoned on sex charges

EUGENE, Ore. – An Oregon man who spent more than 20 years as a federal probation officer has been sentenced to a decade in prison for sexually abusing five women under his supervision.

The Eugene Register-Guard reports 52-year-old Mark Walker pleaded guilty to using his position to force one of the women to have sex with him. He fondled four other women.

Walker was assigned to the U.S. Probation Office in Eugene for most of his career.

He resigned in July 2009, one month after a Lane County sheriff's detective informed Walker's supervisor that Walker might have been having an inappropriate relationship with a female probationer.

The abuse began in April 2005.

Walker still faces civil lawsuits filed by 10 people, including some of the five victims in the criminal case.

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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com