Garvin County man accused of child sexual abuse, sheriff says

PAULS VALLEY, Okla. (KXII) - A Paoli man is in the Garvin County jail facing fourteen charges of child sexual abuse.

According to court documents, it started when 39-year-old Jerry Walker began messaging a 14-year-old girl on Facebook- a girl he’d met through his own child.

“To text a fourteen year old girl is disturbing in itself,” Garvin County Sheriff Jim Mullett said. “But what we uncovered was that through the year when she turned fifteen, he began inquiring and asking for some more inappropriate things.”

Mullett said Walker was asking for nude photos, videos, and promising her money and pressuring her into sexual acts.

“All of this is very disturbing for such a young girl to be taken advantage of, from an adult that knows better,” Mullett said.

Walker’s bond was set at $500,000.

Mullett said he’s been using his new task force for Internet Crimes Against Children to build the case.

“We can show a pattern where he was grooming her, getting her ready, and took advantage of this young person,” Mullett said.

Deputies trained by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and armed with new technology are already working on child sexual abuse cases: investigating cyber tips from five people in Garvin County who downloaded illegal videos of child sexual abuse.

“The resources with partnership with the OSBI is very promising, ‚” Mullett said. “To be able to have that locally, here in Garvin County. We don’t have to go out of the county; we can build our own cases here.”

Mullett encourages anyone being exploited in the county to give them a call at (405) 238-7591.

“If you’re a victim and you feel that you need help, give us a call,” Mullett said. “We’re looking into this, we take it very seriously. and so we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure we get these guys that are taking advantage of these young people, and putting them in jail.”

If you know of someone being exploited anywhere, call local law enforcement or 911.

You can also report child exploitation here: https://report.cybertip.org/.

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