Oklahoma mother receives 7 life sentences after her 11-year-old gives birth to her step father’s baby in home prosecutors label as ‘uninhabitable’
A 34-year-old Oklahoma woman has been sentenced to seven life terms in prison for child neglect and enabling child abuse in connection with her 11-year-old daughter’s pregnancy. Cherie Walker was found guilty of one felony count of enabling child sexual abuse and six counts of child neglect, and a judge ordered the terms to run consecutively, according to True Crime News.
The investigation into Cherie Walker and her husband Dustin Walker began last year after an 11-year-old girl gave birth at home. She had reportedly not received any prenatal care and did not have medical assistance during her birth. DNA testing found that the baby’s father was the girl’s stepfather, Dustin Walker.
Five other children were found living in the home in conditions that court documents described as “deplorable.” Prosecutors said Cherie Walker was aware her husband was abusing her daughter but did nothing to stop it. Dustin Walker was sentenced to life in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to child sexual abuse and neglect charges.
The prosecutor said this case affected everyone who worked on it
Muskogee County Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson previously called the case emotional, as the girl was 10 and 11 years old during the abuse. The home left the children without “even the ability to get a drink of water in the middle of the night,” Hutson said. She said the case affected everyone who touched it, herself included.
The child’s grandmother, Michelle Justus, who is Cherie Walker’s mother, was also charged with six counts of child neglect in connection with the case, according to KJRH. She claimed she was unaware of the child’s pregnancy and previously told the outlet that the girl “did not look pregnant.”
Oklahoma law says a parent who allows abuse can get life in prison too
Oklahoma’s child abuse statute defines enabling child sexual abuse as causing or permitting the abuse by a parent or other caregiver. Cherie Walker has denied knowing her daughter was pregnant. However, the law says a parent permits abuse when that parent knows or reasonably should know the child will be placed at risk.
Each enabling and neglect count carries up to life in prison, as the statute sets the same ceiling for both offenses. Sexually abusing a child under 12, the charge Dustin Walker pleaded guilty to, carries a 25-year minimum. However, enabling and neglect carry no mandatory minimum, so Cherie Walker’s punishment could have ranged from a fine to life.
Michelle Justus still faces six counts of child neglect, and as she waived her right to a jury trial, a judge rather than jurors is expected to decide her case.
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