Mom Who Enabled Husband's Rape of Daughter, 11, Gets Seven Consecutive Life Terms After Girl Gave Birth at Home

Oklahoma mother Cherie Walker received seven consecutive life terms on Friday, 30 October, for child neglect and enabling her husband's sexual abuse of her daughter, who was 11 when she gave birth at home.

The case emerged after the child delivered a baby without medical assistance at the family's Muskogee County home in August last year. A DNA test subsequently identified Walker's husband, Dustin Walker, as the baby's father.

The sentencing followed the prosecution of both adults over the abuse and the conditions in which the family's children were living. Dustin Walker, the girl's stepfather, had already been sentenced for child sexual abuse and neglect.

Seven Life Terms Cover Neglect and Enabling Abuse

Cherie Walker, 34, was sentenced on six counts of child neglect and one count of enabling sexual abuse. Her sentence comprises seven separate life terms, one for each count on which she was sentenced. They are to be served consecutively, so the terms run one after another.

Her convictions concerned her role in permitting the sexual abuse, as well as neglect. Prosecutors said she allowed her husband to sexually abuse her daughter and failed to obtain medical treatment for the girl during her pregnancy.

The girl was the eldest of six children living at the property. The other five children were aged 2, 4, 6, 7 and 9, according to court documents.

Those records described the children as being 'with no clothing' and having lice in their hair. They were living in 'deplorable conditions'.

DNA Evidence Preceded the Life Terms

Both parents initially claimed they did not know the girl was pregnant. Prosecutors challenged that account, maintaining that the pregnancy should have been apparent.

The parents initially faced child neglect charges after the birth brought the case to light. DNA testing subsequently established with 99.9% certainty that Dustin Walker was the father of his stepdaughter's baby. The DNA results led prosecutors to add sexual abuse charges to the case.

Those findings concerned different parts of the case. The DNA testing addressed the baby's paternity, while the paediatrician's evidence challenged the account offered by the couple about their awareness of the pregnancy.

Life Terms Follow Prosecutor's Account of Trauma

Muskogee County Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson previously addressed what the child had experienced, in comments cited by the New York Post. Her account described the consequences of both the abuse and giving birth without professional assistance.

'This child is traumatized,' Hutson stated.

'She's been through a horrific ordeal. I mean, not only has somebody gotten her pregnant, but she gave birth at home without medical assistance, and this will be her life for the rest of her life.'

Dustin Walker pleaded guilty in March, months before his wife received her sentence. His case involved the sexual abuse of his stepdaughter alongside the neglect offences concerning the children in the household.

He received a life sentence in June for the child sexual abuse charge. His punishment also included 42 years for the child neglect charges. It remains unclear whether the additional prison term will run concurrently with or consecutively to his life sentence.