Kaalan Walker, a 27-year-old Los Angeles rapper who starred in high-profile Hollywood fare, was sentenced Monday to between 50 years and life in prison for various sex crimes against four women and three teens, according to southern California’s City News Service.
A Van Nuys jury on April 18 had convicted Walker on multiple counts of forcible rape, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and rape of an intoxicated victim, and assault with intent to commit oral copulation.
LA Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Wallace told City News Service this week that Walker was “truly a predator.” Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino ordered the actor to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Walker had been found not guilty of one count of digital penetration and two counts of forcible rape.
“You’re going to see a dark side of him,” said Deputy District Attorney Yasmin Fardghassemi in her opening statement at his trial in March. “When they said ‘Stop,’ he didn’t care.”
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Walker starred opposite Daniel Craig and Halle Berry in the 2017 film “Kings” and appeared in “SuperFly” in 2018, according to Deadline. He was arrested that same year and released on $1 million bail as authorities conducted an investigation, reported the Los Angeles Times.
Prosecutors said Walker targeted aspiring models on Twitter and Instagram between 2013 and 2018, saying he could boost their careers and help them meet celebrities. He committed his crimes after gaining their trust and getting them alone, only for his digital paper trail to corroborate their complaints.
“This has been happening since 2017,” victim Sydney Stanford, who’s received vocal support from singer Kehlani, wrote on Instagram in April. “It has felt like a never ending nightmare. I have been in survival mode for 5 years. It is finally over. May this be your reminder that justice IS possible.”
“[I] did not forget who victim-blamed when this came out,” Kehlani said after the spring verdict. “I did not forget who tore down victims of sexual assault when this came out. I did not forget what bloggers and what blogs and what platforms felt like they had to play neutral and give a rapist a platform.”
Andrew Flier, Walker’s lawyer, said at trial that the plaintiffs were jointly seeking revenge to place Walker in a “living nightmare.” He told USA Today in April that he planned to appeal the conviction and that Walker “did not receive a fair trial.”
Fardghassemi said during the trial that none of the victims knew each other before coming forward, however, and that the “single thing that unites all of these women is the defendant Kaalan Walker.”
Walker is in custody after Monday’s sentencing and is due back in court May 27.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
