Cherie Walker, from Oklahoma in the US, faces multiple life sentences having been convicted of enabling husband Dustin Walker's sexual abuse of their 11-year-old daughter, reports the Daily Mail. She was also convicted of six counts of child neglect after authorities discovered the 11-year-old gave birth in the 'deplorable' conditions she and her four siblings grew up in at their Muskogee home, where they were raised without clothes and alongside dog faeces.
Prosecution details abuse
Cherie Walker, 34, knew that her husband Dustin, 35, was abusing their 11-year-old daughter but failed to step in, prosecutors said. Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson said after the couple were arrested in August 2025: "It's very emotional to realise 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."
Hutson added: "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."
Discovery and sentencing
The horrendous abuse was only discovered when the girl went to hospital after giving birth to her stepfather's baby, and a DNA test found Dustin was the dad with '99 percent certainty', according to news outlet KRJH. Last month, Dustin Walker was sentenced for his crimes. He apologised for his abuse in court.
Dustin entered what is known as a 'blind' guilty plea to six counts of child neglect and one count of sexual abuse of a child under 12 four months ago, in March. A blind plea means the defendant admits guilt for the crimes, and does not have a plea deal, meaning the Judge decides their sentence alone. In his case, the Judge handed Dustin Walker a jail term of 42 years in prison, plus a life sentence, for abuse and neglect of a child.
Upcoming trials
Cherie Walker will be sentenced at a later date having been found guilty last Friday. Another adult present in the home, Cherie's mother Michelle Justus, will also go on trial on Thursday (July 23), accused of child neglect.
