MUSKOGEE, Okla. (TCN) — A 35-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after pleading guilty to child sexual abuse and neglect charges stemming from an investigation that began when his 11-year-old stepdaughter gave birth at home.
KTUL reports that in August 2025, the girl, whose name has not been released, gave birth at home and then went to the hospital. Her mother, 34-year-old Cherie Walker, and her stepfather, Dustin Walker, were initially charged with neglect for not getting the girl proper medical care. People reports that prior to showing up at the hospital after giving birth, she had not been to the doctor in a year.
A DNA test revealed Dustin Walker was the baby’s father and he was also charged with child sexual abuse, according to KTUL. Cherie Walker was charged with enabling child sexual abuse.
According to KAKE, the child’s grandmother Michelle Justus was also charged. She and Cherie Walker said no one in the home knew the child was pregnant despite the fact that she gave birth to a full-term baby.
KJRH reports a Department of Health and Human Services employee visited the home and saw a picture another child had drawn of her pregnant sister. The child who drew the picture alleged that her grandmother told her not to tell anyone about the pregnancy.
In addition to the 11-year-old victim, there were five other children in the Walker home, KJRH reports. In court, their pediatrician, Dr. Tracy Hoos, said all six children suffered from severe physical neglect. They were underweight and had lice and tooth decay.
District Attorney Janet Hutson said in court that that the Walker home did not have air conditioning or running water and there was human waste everywhere. She said it was one of the worst cases she had ever prosecuted, according to KJRH.
Huston said, “It’s very emotional to realize that a child at the age of 10 and 11 was having sex with their stepfather, that she became pregnant, and no one took her to the doctor and she gave birth at home. When you complicate that with the severe deplorable uninhabitable conditions of that home, to know that’s where she gave birth, where those children lived, without even the ability to get a drink of water in the middle of the night. It affected everyone in law enforcement. It affected the investigators. It affected everyone who touched this case. It certainly affected me.”
Dustin Walker pleaded guilty to the charges in March and was sentenced June 29 to life in prison for child sexual abuse, 15 years for the first count of child neglect, five years for the next four counts of child neglect, and seven years for the last count, according to KTUL. All the sentences are to be served consecutively, starting with the neglect charges.
According to KJRH, Dustin Walker is eligible for parole after having served 85% of his sentence. If he is ever paroled, he will have to register as a sex offender.
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