The Rev. John Henry Walker, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Charlotte, has been released to a halfway house after serving four years of a five-year sentence for tax evasion, bank fraud and lying to federal agents.

An official with the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Tuesday confirmed Walker’s release

The Rev. John Henry Walker

but declined to say where he is currently being confined.

Walker’s final release date is set for March 27, 2012. The Bureau of Prisons official said Walker could be released at any time before then to home confinement.

Walker was 48 in 2007 when he was sentenced to five years in prison in what would become a precursor to the trial of Anthony and Harriet Jinwright. The Jinwrights, former co-pastors of Greater Salem Church, were convicted in 2010 on multiple counts related to tax evasion and are serving time in West Virginia prisons.

In the Walker case, prosecutors alleged that Walker used church credit cards to pay for personal expenses, including hotel rooms where he met women from the church for sexual liaisons. They also alleged that he failed to report more than $1 million in income that included cash offerings from church members.

In total, prosecutors alleged, Walker failed to pay more than $500,000 in taxes.

In addition to his prison sentence, Walker, now 52, was ordered to pay more than $277,000 in restitution and serve five years probation.

Despite Walker’s time in prison, some members of the church have stood by him; he is still listed as senior pastor on the church’s website. Others members, however, left to find other congregations.

Walker’s wife, Minister Rosie Knight Walker, has served as pastor in her husband’s absence. Efforts to reach her and other church officials for comment concerning John Walker’s return were not immediately successful.

Got news to share with Qcity readers? Email us at editor@qcitymetro.com.
Sign up for our weekly email newsletter below

Sign up for our Weekly Email Newsletter Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Other Ways to Share Twitter Del.icio.us MySpace

Discussions and Submission Agreement