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Horace Walker
Accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child dating back to 2019, as well as possessing an indicted felony for bringing a “prohibited substance” into a correctional facility in 2022, Horace Walker absconded mid-trial from jury proceedings in front of Jefferson County Criminal District Court Judge John Stevens on Nov. 17.
Out on bond (pursuant to a “glitch” in the system,” the judge read into the record) for the felony allegations, Walker flirted with immediate imprisonment when the defendant failed to show for court on time on Thursday. While the judge contemplated a bond revocation and arrest warrant, the trial was delayed as court personnel searched for the accused. Contacted by the defendant’s attorney, Walker’s family said he would be to court – eventually, roughly half an hour past the time court was to begin.
At 9:30 a.m., half an hour after court was to begin, Stevens said he would allow another 15 minutes for the defendant to arrive. At 9:50 a.m., the judge moved to proceed with trial without the defendant present.
“A warrant has been issued for his arrest,” Stevens said. “It’s obvious the defense is not providing me any information to make the court believe there is no good reason to move forward.”
Walker’s attorney, Bruce Smith, advised that his client had been out late with friends the night before and asked to spend, “the next couple hours” to “try to convince him into coming here.”
“The defendant has, on his own volition, elected not to appear – and we will move forward, like the rules allow,” Stevens said.
The jury was brought into the courtroom, without the defendant present, at 10:07 a.m. Prosecutor Pam French advised that there was only a single state witness left to bring before the court and, by the days’ end, jurors were deliberating Walker’s fate. The following morning, jurors handed down Walker’s sentence – which includes 30 years imprisonment once he’s found.
“He’s still AWOL, so to speak,” French said of the now-convicted child sex abuser, hoping for the fugitive’s arrest in the near future. “The jury found him guilty…He was sentenced to a term of 30 years. That’s what’s waiting for him once he’s found – and, I’m sure, other charges as well.”
French said the defendant choosing “not be present physically” was no reason to delay justice any further for the child who was Walker’s victim.
“These children wait a long time for justice,” French said of the victims for which she seeks justice on a daily basis. “Whether or not he chose to be here for the reminder of his trial, it was important for the victim to go forward.
“And, it was important to get justice for her.”
Walker, at the beginning of trial, had rejected the state’s offer of a sentence recommendation of 30 years confinement in exchange for his plea of guilty.
Stevens advised Walker that, should the alleged aggravated offender be convicted at trial, the penalty range would be 25 years – life in prison. Additionally, the judge paraphrased from penal code: “You must serve day-for-day. Parole is not an option if sentenced.”
According to the conversations Walker’s attorney had with the defendant and the defendant’s family members the day the accused absconded from justice, Walker had been out late with friends the night before he neglected to show for court.
“Of all the excuses someone could come up with for missing the trial of your life, that they were out late partying…,” was a new one for the judge, Stevens dismayed.
Walker has ties to Orange, as well as to Port Arthur, where the then 7-year-old victim resided at the time of the aggravated sexual assault in 2019. According to investigators, the little girl told her mother that Walker sexually assaulted her mid-day on Sept. 10, 2019. Walker fled the scene amid what police called a “reported disturbance,” but later turned himself in and was released on bond pending a trial that commenced more than three years later.