The child’s grandmother, who lives with the family, says no one knew she was pregnant as a neighbor talks about the alleged conditions of the home — including a lack of running water for years despite having six kids and pets.
An 11-year-old girl in Oklahoma has become a parent as her own parents are now facing charges of felony child neglect. But the grandmother of the new mom, who lived with the family, insists to a local news station that no one knew the girl was 36 weeks pregnant, according to court documents seen by CBS affiliate WDBJ.
Now, the 11-year-old and her five younger siblings have all since been removed from the family’s home, according to NBC affiliate KJRH. Meanwhile, Dustin Walker and Cherie Walker are at the Muskogee County Jail on a $100,000 bond each.
Fans Tear Into Rosie O’Donnell for Call to Free Menendez Brothers After Parole Denials
View Story
Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson of the Muskogee County District Attorney’s Office told KJRH that she first learned of the case after the unidentified girl was transported to a hospital after she’d given birth unattended by medical professionals in the family’s home on August 16.
Fox affiliate KOKI reports, per court filings, that the girl had not been to see a doctor in more than a year and received no prenatal care before delivering the child. Her parents have both said they had no idea she was pregnant.
“The guardians are currently in the Muskogee County Jail,” Hutson said of the child’s biological mother and stepfather. “I do anticipate filing additional charges and amending that information shortly.”
Huston said that it’s a tough case to prosecute as her office awaits paternity test results to determine the baby’s father. It’s anticipated those results could take two weeks, she said. “I was horror-stricken to find out it’s an 11-year-old little girl who’s given birth,” she said. “And that she had no medical care, and she had no one to be with her.”
Man Seen Dragging Large Object In Ring Footage Now Charged with Wife’s Murder
View Story
“This child is traumatized,” she told CBS affiliate KOTV. “She’s been through a horrific ordeal. I mean, 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.”
The news station spoke with a neighbor of the family who claimed that they had “no running water for the last two or three years,” despite having six children and dogs. She further claimed to have made multiple calls to police and other authorities to check on the children.
As for the girl’s pregnancy, the neighbor told KJRH, “This is getting to me. They robbed her of her childhood.”
Pushing back against this narrative was Michelle, who told KJRH she was the child’s grandmother. “I just want people to know, we did not know this was happening. None of us,” she said of the pregnancy. “They’ve made my daughter and my son-in-law a monster. They are not. They love those children. They love them.”
In regard to the alleged home conditions, Michelle, who purportedly lives with the family, said, “We have animals, and so sometimes there’s trash on the floor because the dogs get into the trash. It gets cleaned up. Right now, it’s probably a mess because the animals are in there. We try to let them out, but they try to keep it clean.”
Parents of Missing 7-Month-Old Emmanuel Haro Arrested for Murder
View Story
Michelle also weighed in on unsubstantiated speculation about the newborn’s paternity, insisting that the father is a “12-year-old that i used to babysit. She keeps telling everybody that it was him. They got curious. That’s all I know.”
Speaking with KOTV, Hutson said that while schools and doctors typically report cases like this, it appears that the girl was homeschooled, limiting opportunities for awareness of her condition and possible intervention on her behalf. “The child had been out of school for a period of time,” she said.
She also cast doubt on the claims that no one in the family knew the girl was pregnant, She argued that while the victim was “rather petite,” she gave birth to a normal-sized infant.
If you are experiencing or witness child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
