Man gets life sentence for sex assault

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Friday, July 16, 2004 | 8:19 a.m.

A 41-year-old man who sexually assaulted his former girlfriend's 6-year-old daughter and videotaped the assaults was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

District Judge Michelle Leavitt had the choice of running Kenneth Walker's sentences for two counts of sexual assault on a minor under the age of 14 concurrently or consecutively after he reached a plea agreement with prosecutors to have more than 140 related charges dismissed.

Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich Rego didn't need many words to state her case. She instead played segments of the videos and displayed some of the pictures that Walker took of the little girl and himself for Leavitt and Walker's attorney, John Momot.

Leavitt, her clerks and the attorneys all were visibly disturbed by the images, which were not shown to the rest of the court.

The plea agreement, which mandated a life sentence, was offered to Walker to avoid making the victim, now 10, testify, prosecutors said.

Luzaich Rego said police discovered more than 3,000 of images of child pornography on Walker's computer, which included the videos and pictures he took of the victim. She said Walker's comments to the Department of Parole and Probation and his failure to show remorse were more than enough to sentence him to consecutive life terms.

"The defendant tells the Department of Parole and Probation he was acting stupid," Luzaich Rego said. "I ask the court: How many times can someone be stupid, 3,000 times?"

In addition to the videos and pictures, Luzaich Rego read a narrative written by Walker that police found on his computer in which he explained he started dating the victim's mother because she "had her good points," which he later wrote were "three little girls."

In the same narrative, Walker says the mother made a mistake in trusting him to be around her children.

The mother of the victim acknowledged she made a mistake in trusting Walker, and she urged Leavitt not to make the mistake of allowing Walker to serve his two sentences concurrently.

Calling her daughter "my hero" the mother asked Leavitt to reward her daughter for the courage she displayed in bringing Walker to justice.

"Let her feel safe. Let her know her voice has been heard and has made a difference," the mother said.