Alleged child rapist at Parma Heights day care indicted on child pornography charges
[Watch related FOX 8 News coverage on local police officers’ investigation.]
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A man previously accused of raping a 2-year-old at an in-home day care in Parma Heights is now under federal indictment on child pornography charges.
A new indictment filed this week charges Conner Matthew Walker, 20, of Parma Heights, with two counts of sexual exploitation of children and single counts of receipt and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of child pornography.
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The charges relate to two separate victims whom Walker allegedly enticed or coerced into engaging in “sexually explicit conduct” that was either photographed or recorded, according to the indictment.
The offenses allegedly happened in September and November 2023, according to the indictment.
On Jan. 5, 2024, the day Parma Heights investigators arrested Walker on a rape allegation reported to the FBI, investigators found child pornography on his phone, according to the indictment.
The rape was reported at an in-home day care along Big Creek Parkway in Parma Heights, local police said.
Detective Eric Taylor at the time said Walker lived at the home and that it appeared the day care operator “had no knowledge” of the sexual assault.
Taylor last month said one alleged victim and one alleged incident had been identified. But about 10 families had children supervised by the day care, he added. Anyone with information on an alleged assault should contact Parma Heights police at 440-481-3099 and ask for Detective Eric Taylor.
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Walker’s charges of rape and gross sexual imposition were bound over to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, but were dismissed last month “without prejudice.” That means authorities reserve the right to re-file the charges at a later date.
Authorities last month said Walker could face additional charges in the county court.
He remains in federal custody on a $500,000 bond. No future court dates have been set.
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