An Oklahoma man is facing charges of child sexual molestation after an 11-year-old girl in his orbit gave birth in her home, and her mother is accused of enabling abuse in a case that a local assistant district attorney called possibly “the most serious … I have ever prosecuted”.
The charges that the Muskogee county district attorney’s office filed against Dustin Walker, 34, on Monday came after a DNA test confirmed he was the father of the newborn at the center of the case, the Oklahoma news outlet KWTV reported, citing officials.
The woman charged alongside Walker – the parent of the newborn’s underage mother – is 33. As is the outlet’s policy, the Guardian is not identifying her or describing her relationship to Walker to protect the identity of the abuse victim in the case.
Walker and the woman had initially been arrested on one count each of felony child neglect after the 11-year-old gave birth to a full-term baby at her home on 16 August, according to records filed in court and reported on by NBC News.
The two adults allegedly claimed that they did not know the girl was pregnant despite the fact that the minor was “rather petite” and her newborn was of a normal size, the local assistant district attorney Jennifer Hutson told KWTV.
Hutson also said to the station that the abuse victim had not been to the doctor in more than a year, preventing physicians or nurses who may have encountered her from detecting her pregnancy and being required to report it. According to Hutson’s remarks to KWTV, the 11-year-old either was not in school or may have been homeschooled, further ensuring the pregnancy went unnoticed.
After a DNA test established he was the newborn’s father, Walker on Monday was met with an additional count accusing him of sexually abusing the 11-year-old girl beginning in January, resulting in her giving birth, as the court records reported on by NBC noted. Authorities, meanwhile, tacked on an enabling child sexual abuse count against the 11-year-old’s mother.
“This child is traumatized,” Hutson said to KWTV of the abuse victim. “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.”
Walker and the 33-year-old woman are also accused of neglecting five other children in their care since at least January, NBC also reported, attributing the information to court records. The network said those other children were between the ages of two and nine.
The 11-year-old’s mother and Walker have been in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, KWTV reported. Hutson reportedly said that Walker and the 11-year-old’s mother – who are tentatively due in court in September – could receive up to life imprisonment if convicted as accused.
In a statement reported by NBC, Hutson said: “This is one of the most if not the most serious child sexual abuse and neglect cases I have ever prosecuted.”
• In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
