Editor’s Note: This article includes topics of child abuse which might be upsetting. Please read with caution. If you believe a child is experiencing abuse, learn how to report it in your state here. To speak with a counselor, contact the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4253.
An online reporter has revealed that an 11-year-old girl, allegedly made to have her stepfather’s child, was not safeguarded by any adults around her.
“Those around Dustin (Walker) were letting him continue his actions,” stated Justin Shepherd, who hosts the podcast “Just in the Nick of Crime,” during a “Banfield” segment on Tuesday. “It’s impossible they were unaware.”
Oklahoma residents Dustin and Cherie Walker were apprehended and charged last month following a prosecutor’s discovery through DNA testing that Dustin fathered the child.
“This case is really unsettling in a lot of different ways,” Shepherd added.
Child’s grandmother also charged with neglect
The child’s grandmother was also charged with six counts of child neglect in the incident.
Michelle Justus lived across the street from the family and was the child and her other siblings’ caretaker, according to prosecutors.
Legal documents allege that Justus neglected to supervise and provide necessary medical care for the children and permitted them to remain in harmful living conditions. Additionally, she did not report the pregnancy to the authorities.
“It appears this child, along with all those in the home, lacked any adult protection,” Shepherd commented. “She ignored maintaining the household, which was in an abysmal state.”
Child was hemorrhaging when EMS arrived
Authorities said the child was hemorrhaging when emergency services personnel were called to the house. EMS decided to cut the umbilical cord and rushed the girl to a hospital.
“My best guess is that this got really bad, which makes sense because this is an 11-year-old child giving birth to a full-term baby,” Shepherd said.
The child and her five siblings were removed from the Walkers’ home.
