Parma Heights daycare employee faces federal charges after recent rape accusations surfaced.
A Parma Heights daycare employee faces federal charges after recent rape accusations surfaced. Conner Walker, a 20-year-old Rocky River resident, is currently being held in jail on a $500,000 bond.
Last week, the FBI received a tip about a possible childhood sexual abuse case. Further investigation led to a match between an explicit image of the alleged victim – a Cleveland toddler – and a photo on her family’s Facebook page.
On January 5, agents began to question the child’s mother. She identified her 3-year-old daughter in the images and confirmed that the young girl was just 2 at the time of the alleged abuse. It became clear that these events unfolded during the child’s time at the home day care owned by Tonya Ball in Parma Heights.
Investigators dispatched to Ball’s day care on Big Creek Parkway were told by the owner herself that “two adult men were at the home, one of whom was [Conner] Walker, a friend of her son who routinely slept” at the house. Walker agreed to speak with agents.
According to the perpetrator, the child was staying overnight one evening in September 2023. She entered the bathroom as Walker exited the shower, and according to the police report, he “instructed the victim to open her mouth as he sexually assaulted her, recording approximately two minutes of the abuse.”
Afterwards, he shared the recording to multiple people through the app “Session,” a private, encrypted software promising its users “anonymity and security.”
Police searched Walker’s cell phone and discovered multiple photos and videos of the young girl being assaulted. In his Photos app, he had a locked “hidden” folder containing additional child sexual abuse material.
Conner Walker was arrested by the Parma Heights Police Department on January 5. He was charged with one count of rape and three counts of gross sexual imposition. As of January 10, investigators have confirmed that Ball’s day care license has been suspended by the state of Ohio.
Although Ball is not suspected to have prior knowledge of the sexual abuse that occurred under her roof, she has at least nine previously recorded violations on her record as a childcare provider. In addition to providing a false address for her day care center, she did not provide CPR, first aid, or child abuse training verification. Ball also did not complete background checks for herself, her husband, her son, or an additional unidentified resident of the household.
Walker initially appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday and is now in federal custody.
Authors: Andy Goldwasser and Alexis Kabat
