The sentence followed her conviction for enabling sexual abuse and neglect after her 11-year-old daughter gave birth at home.
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — An Oklahoma judge sentenced Cherie Dawn Walker to seven consecutive life terms Friday after a jury convicted her of enabling child sexual abuse and six counts of child neglect in a case involving her 11-year-old daughter.
Muskogee County District Judge Timothy King imposed the sentences Oct. 30, matching the punishment recommended by jurors who convicted Walker on all seven felony counts in July. The Muskogee County court docket shows Walker appeared in person from jail for sentencing and received a life term on each count, with the sentences ordered to run consecutively. The case drew attention after authorities learned in August 2025 that Walker’s daughter had given birth at the family’s home without prenatal care or medical assistance.
The investigation began after the girl, then 11, delivered a full-term infant at the Muskogee County home and was later taken to a hospital. Prosecutors said the child had received no prenatal care and had not seen a doctor for more than a year before the birth. Authorities later removed the girl and her younger siblings from the household. The child’s name has not been published here because she is a minor and a victim of sexual abuse.
Authorities determined through DNA testing that Walker’s husband, Dustin Joel Walker, the girl’s stepfather, fathered the infant. Prosecutors said testing established paternity with 99% certainty. Dustin Walker later pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a child under 12 and six counts of child neglect. King sentenced him in June to life in prison plus 42 years, with the 42 years to be served before the life term.
The case against Cherie Walker centered on prosecutors’ argument that she failed to protect her daughter from sexual abuse and failed to provide adequate care to children in the home. Prosecutors challenged family claims that the adults did not know the girl was pregnant. Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson said the child’s condition and the circumstances surrounding the birth were inconsistent with claims that the pregnancy had gone unnoticed.
Court records show jurors heard several days of testimony before returning their verdict July 17. Witnesses included emergency medical personnel, nurses, child welfare workers, a pediatrician, investigators and other people familiar with the family. The court also recorded that jurors reviewed DNA evidence and medical and birth records. After deliberations, the jury found Walker guilty on all seven counts and recommended life imprisonment for each offense.
Prosecutors also said the girl had been out of school for a period and may have been homeschooled, reducing her regular contact with teachers and other adults outside the household. Earlier reporting on the case also raised concerns about the conditions in which the children were living. Those circumstances became part of a broader child-neglect investigation involving the six children who had lived in the home.
Members of the family initially disputed prosecutors’ account. The girl’s maternal grandmother, Michelle Lynn Justus, publicly said the family had not known about the pregnancy. Prosecutors later charged Justus separately with offenses related to alleged child neglect. Her case is distinct from the convictions of Cherie and Dustin Walker, and the allegations against Justus have not resulted in a conviction.
Walker appeared at her Oct. 30 sentencing with defense attorney Matthew R. Price, according to the court docket. Prosecutors did not seek changes to the presentence investigation, and both sides presented arguments before King imposed the seven consecutive life terms. The judge also ordered transcripts of Walker’s trial and sentencing to be prepared at state expense.
The sentencing completes the trial-court phase of Walker’s case more than a year after the investigation began. The court record lists her convictions as one count of enabling child sexual abuse and six counts of child neglect. Separate proceedings involving other family members remain subject to their own court schedules and outcomes.
Author note: Last updated November 1, 2026.