‘She had no medical care’: 11-Year-Old Forced to Give Birth at Home, Parents Claim Ignorance

An Oklahoma mother and stepfather face charges after their 11-year-old daughter gave birth inside the family’s home without medical assistance.

Authorities arrested Dustin Walker and Cherie Walker this week, charging each with felony child neglect.

What Happened

The victim, the oldest of six children, lived in the Walker household before officials removed all the siblings, according to Tulsa NBC affiliate KJRH.

Authorities have not disclosed how the girl became pregnant. However, her grandmother, who identified herself as Michelle, insisted the family had no idea.

“I just want people to know, we did not know this was happening. None of us,” Michelle said. “They’ve made my daughter and my son-in-law a monster. They are not. They love those children. They love them.”

Michelle claimed the girl told relatives that a 12-year-old boy she once babysat fathered the child.

Conflicting Accounts

A neighbor described the Walker home as deplorable, without running water for two or three years, and said she had repeatedly called authorities about the children’s welfare.

“This is getting to me. They robbed her of her childhood,” the neighbor told KJRH, adding she doubted the parents’ claim of ignorance.

Michelle rejected those allegations, saying the family cleaned up after their animals and tried to keep the house livable despite occasional messes.

Prosecutors Respond

Muskogee County Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson called the case “heartbreaking” in an interview with Tulsa CBS affiliate KOTV.

“This child is traumatized. 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,” Hutson said.

She also questioned the parents’ claim that they didn’t notice the pregnancy, noting the child was petite but delivered a normal-sized infant.

Hutson emphasized that school or medical professionals would normally report such a condition, but the Walkers kept the girl out of school and hadn’t taken her to a doctor in over a year.