On October 17, 2022, actor and rapper Kaalan Walker was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for s*xually assaulting multiple women.
Earlier this year, on April 18, a Vans Juys jury convicted Walker of unlawful s*xual intercourse with a minor, forcible r*pe, and r*pe of an intoxicated victim. The conviction came in response to charges brought against him by three teens and four young women, all of whom he had allegedly contacted through social media.
NBC 4 reported that the Superfly actor is also accused of " assault with intent to commit oral copulation." All of these crimes were committed and reported between 2013 and 2018.
Back in 2021, popular American singer Kehlani had issued a statement about the case, expressing her solidarity with Walker's victims:
"I am standing with the victims of a serial R*PIST who I know personally to be aggressive, dangerous and twisted."
Following the rapper's sentencing, she posted a screenshot of the news on her Instagram story, saying that she was "happy for everyone for not giving up."
"Guilty as hell": Kehlani's past social media comments about Kaalan Walker
Following the conviction of the rapper in April this year, Kehlani had bashed Kaalan Walker in a video on social media where she said:
“I did not forget who tore down victims of s*xual assault when this came out. I did not forget what bloggers and blogs and platforms felt like they had to play neutral and give a rapist a platform for the sake of clicks of views when this came out. I hope all of ya’ll beat your own fuc**ng a*s and eat your own words. This man is going to jail for the rest of his life, guilty as hell.”
Kehlani has been very vocal about Walker's case right from the beginning. In March 2021, she posted a series of tweets where she shared what she knew about Walker’s alleged actions. The now-deleted tweets talked about how many victims came forward against the rapper.
Owing to her vocal support for the victims, Kehlani also received her share of backlash as a few blogs and netizens called her out for defaming the convicted rapper.
Kaalan Walker lured his victims with false promises of introducing them to Drake
It must be noted that none of Kaalan Walker's victims knew each other personally. The rapper used to contact young girls and women on Instagram and Twitter, before luring them into meeting him with false promises of photoshoots and music gigs. Apart from this, Walker is also accused of making fake promises of introducing young girls to famous rappers like Drake.
Speaking about the victims, Deputy District Attorney Yasmin Fardghassemi said that the rapper paid no heed to the girls when they asked him to stop.
She also pointed out one common string that connected all the victims:
“"(The) single thing that unites all of these women is the defendant Kaalan Walker. (...) You're going to see a dark side of him."
After court Judge Brandolino instructed Kaalan Walker to register as a s*x offender, Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Wallace also expressed that she is convinced that the defendant is "Truly a predator."
The 27-year-old rapper and actor was arrested in 2018, after which he was released on bail. However, he was remanded into custody following his conviction in April.
