New details on alleged rape at local day care

PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) — Police on Tuesday offered more details on an investigation into an alleged rape at a local day care.

Conner Matthew Walker, 20, of Rocky River, is charged with one count of rape and three counts of gross sexual imposition. The alleged victim was 2 years old at the time, according to detectives.

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Walker lived part-time at the home where the day care operated, according to Parma Heights Detective Eric Taylor. It appears the operator of the day care “had no knowledge” of the alleged assault. The operator is cooperating with police in the investigation, he said.

Taylor declined to identify the day care, as it’s part of the “active investigation,” he said.

Walker was arrested Jan. 5 following an investigation by the FBI and city police into the incident, reported at a licensed, in-home day care along Big Creek Parkway, police previously said. The FBI Cleveland field office passed along a tip about the incident earlier that afternoon, Taylor said.

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Taylor said one alleged victim and one alleged incident have 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.

A city of Parma spokesperson confirmed to FOX 8 News that Walker was a part-time summer employee for the city’s recreation department, who did landscaping work from June 2019 to July 2020, when he quit.

Walker was given a $500,000 bond at his Monday appearance in Parma Municipal Court. His case has been bound over to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, where he may face additional charges.

He remains in custody. No future court dates have been set.

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