Oklahoma Parents Charged After 11-Year-Old Forced to Give Birth at Home
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – An Oklahoma couple has been arrested after their 11-year-old daughter was forced to give birth at home without medical care, prosecutors said this week.
Dustin Walker and his wife, Cherie Walker, were charged with felony child neglect after authorities discovered that the girl, the eldest of six siblings, delivered her baby inside the family’s home with no doctors or nurses present. All six children have since been removed from the household.
Family Denies Knowledge of Pregnancy
Few details have been released about the circumstances leading to the pregnancy, but the child’s grandmother, identified only as “Michelle,” insisted the family had no idea her granddaughter was expecting.
“I just want people to know, we did not know this was happening. None of us,” Michelle told Tulsa NBC affiliate KJRH. “They’ve made my daughter and my son-in-law a monster. They are not. They love those children.”
Michelle also claimed the victim said the father of the child was a 12-year-old boy she used to babysit. “They got curious. That’s all I know,” she told reporters.
Neighbors Raise Alarms
A neighbor painted a starkly different picture of life inside the Walker home. She told reporters the family had been living without running water for two to three years and kept multiple dogs and cats inside the house.
“I’ve made several calls to authorities about those kids,” the neighbor said. “They robbed her of her childhood.”
Michelle disputed that description, saying the home was messy only because of the pets. “Sometimes there’s trash on the floor because the dogs get into it,” she said. “We try to keep it clean.”
Prosecutor Skeptical of Family’s Defense
Muskogee County Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson cast doubt on claims that the family did not notice the girl’s condition. She emphasized that while the victim was “rather petite,” her newborn was a normal-sized infant.
“This child is traumatized,” Hutson said in an interview with Tulsa CBS affiliate KOTV. “She’s been through a horrific ordeal. 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.”
The prosecutor noted that mandatory reporters such as doctors or teachers normally alert authorities in such cases. However, the Walkers allegedly kept the girl out of school and had not taken her to a doctor in more than a year.
Ongoing Investigation
Authorities are awaiting DNA test results to confirm the baby’s paternity. Hutson said additional charges against the parents may be filed once the test results return, expected within two weeks.
The Walkers are being held at Muskogee County Jail on $100,000 bond. Their next court appearance has not yet been scheduled.
