Mom, stepdad charged over 11-year-old’s home birth
Authorities in Oklahoma have arrested a mother and stepfather after their 11-year-old daughter gave birth at home without any medical supervision. Dustin Walker and Cherie Walker have both been charged with one count of felony child neglect and are currently being held at the Muskogee County Jail on a $100,000 bond each.
According to local news outlet KJRH (NBC Tulsa), the girl, who is the eldest of six children living in the home, delivered the baby inside the family’s residence. The other five children have since been removed from the home by child welfare services.
Few official details have been released about how the girl became pregnant. However, the child’s maternal grandmother, identified only as “Michelle,” spoke to reporters, insisting the family was unaware of the pregnancy.
“I just want people to know, we did not know this was happening. None of us,” she said. “They’ve made my daughter and my son-in-law out to be monsters. They are not. They love those children.”
Michelle claimed the girl told relatives the father of the child was a 12-year-old boy whom Michelle used to babysit. “She keeps telling everybody that it was him. They got curious. That’s all I know,” she said.
A neighbor, however, disputed the family’s version of events and expressed concern over the living conditions in the Walker home. The neighbor claimed the household had been without running water for two to three years, despite housing multiple children and pets. She also said she had contacted authorities several times with concerns about the children’s welfare.
“This is getting to me,” the neighbor told KJRH. “They robbed her of her childhood.”
The grandmother refuted the claims of neglect, attributing messes in the home to the family’s pets and insisting the home was regularly cleaned.
Muskogee County Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson described the case as “heartbreaking” in an interview with Tulsa CBS affiliate KOTV. She questioned the family’s claim of ignorance, noting that the girl, although “rather petite,” gave birth to a “normal-sized infant.”
“This child is traumatized,” Hutson said. “She’s been through a horrific ordeal. Not only has somebody gotten her pregnant, but she gave birth at home without medical assistance. This will stay with her for the rest of her life.”
Hutson added that the girl had not been seen by a doctor or attended school in over a year—factors that may have prevented mandatory reporters from noticing the pregnancy.
Prosecutors are awaiting the results of a DNA test to determine paternity. Additional charges may be filed once the results are returned in the coming weeks. A court date for the Walkers has not yet been scheduled.
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