MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A judge sentenced Muskogee stepfather Dustin Walker to life in prison after a jury found Walker guilty on seven counts, including one count of felony sexual abuse of a child under 12 and six felony counts of child neglect.
The jury sentenced Walker to 15 years for one count of neglect, 5 years each for 4 other counts of neglect, and 7 years for a final count of neglect.
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Walker will serve life sentence for the count of sexual abuse. He will serve counts 2 through 7 first, followed by the life sentence for count 1.
District Attorney Janet Hutson called four witnesses to the stand during sentencing: the family's pediatrician, the children's DHS case worker, the 11 year old's therapist and the correctional officer who conducted the pre-sentencing investigation.
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That investigation was ordered back in March when Walker plead guilty. Through that process, investigators found the relationship began between Walker and his young step-daughter when she was ten.
“The probation officer who did that pre-sentence investigation found in her report, she didn’t feel the defendant was taking appropriate accountability and blamed the child and blamed his wife. Her recommendations was the maximum term allowed by law," said Hutson.
In her questioning of Dr. Tracy Hoos, Hutson asked about the risks a pregnancy at such a young age put on the mother. Hoos said it increased mortality for both the mother and baby.
The DHS case worker waived HIPPA rights for the children in front of the court so Dr. Hoos could answer questions.
Hoos said he has seen all six children that were in the home and described all of them as being severely neglected physically, from lice to dental decay to being underweight.
Hutson showed photos of the home as evidence, and asked Dr. Hoos if the environment shown increased harm. He said yes.
Hutson said the home was found to have no AC, no running water, urine and feces everywhere. The DA said its one of, if not the worst case she's ever prosecuted.
“It’s very emotional to realize that a child at the age of 10 and 11 was having sex with their step father, 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.”
Dr. Hoos was asked if he believed it was possible that the girl's parents didn't know she was pregnant. He said he didn't believe so.
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“Dr. Hoos who is a well respected pediatrician in Muskogee, Oklahoma testified to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that particularly during the last trimester, anyone would have known this child was pregnant," said Hutson.
Both the prosecution and the defense said they found the sentencing to be fair.
“We didn’t want to go to trial, we also could not come to an agreement with the state about what a reasonable sentence would be so we left it in the judges hands," said Ben Hilfiger, Walker's attorney. I think the judge, knowing this judge, I think he did his research and I think he made a well thought out decision. We will likely be appealing the sentence as far as reasonableness goes.”
Hilfiger fought throughout sentencing to make sure it was known that his client was remorseful.
Walker did stand before the court twice and apologize for his actions, and for everyone he's hurt because of what he did.
“He’s apologized and accepted responsibility multiple times," said Hilfiger. “I don’t think anybody’s prepared when you get a sentence of that length, no matter how many times it’s told to you. However Mr. Walker knew exactly what the possibilities were and he knew that he was looking at up to eight life sentences running consecutively to each other.”
Muskogee police arrested walker after his 11-year-old stepdaughter gave birth to a baby. Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson told 2 News Oklahoma that DNA testing revealed a 99% certainty that Dustin Walker is the baby's father.
Walker entered a blind plea in court in March.
Walker is eligible for parole, but all charges are 85% crimes, meaning Walker must serve 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole.
If paroled, Walker faces 3 years of supervision post-incarceration. He also has to register as a sex offender.
Walker is barred from any contact with the victims.
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