'SuperFly' Actor Kaalan Walker Sentenced to Decades in Prison Following Rape Conviction

Kaalan Walker, who starred in SuperFly, was sentenced to at least 50 years in prison Monday after he was convicted on several counts of rape. Walker, 27, was convicted in April on three counts of forcible rape, two counts of statutory rape, and two counts of rape by intoxication, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said, reports the Los Angeles Times. Walker will also be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

Walker was arrested in September 2018, months after Superfly was released. Several women accused him of sexual assault in separate instances dating back to 2016, the Los Angeles Police Department said at the time. He was arraigned on nine felony sexual assault charges and was held on $1 million bail. He pleaded not guilty.

The four women were aspiring models. They told police Walker contacted them through social media, claiming he could help them get jobs in the entertainment industry. When they met, Walker sexually assaulted them, police said. Court documents showed Walker allegedly assaulted the women between April 2016 and July 2018. It was later reported that some of the alleged attacks dated back to 2013, reports NBC Los Angeles.

Walker's Van Nuys, California trial was held in March and April, reports USA Today. The jury found him guilty of "three counts of forcible rape, one count of assault to commit oral copulation, two counts of statutory rape, and two counts of rape by intoxication." He was found not guilty of "one count of digital penetration and two counts of forcible rape."

After the conviction, Walker maintained his innocence, his attorney, Andrew Flier, told USA Today. He "did not receive a fair trial as many important issues were excluded by the court," Flier said. The attorney added that the not-guilty verdicts on some of the counts gave him confidence that the case could be overturned on appeal.

During her opening statement, Deputy District Attorney Yasmin Fardghassemi told the jury that Walker's victims did not know each other, reports NBC Los Angeles. She said there were allegations by at least 10 women, some of whom were in their teens when they met Walker. The allegations were "strikingly similar," Fardghassemi said. She sold the jury that the prosecution would show a "dark side" of Walker. "When they said 'stop,' he didn't care," Fardghassemi added.

Flier said the victims wanted "revenge" and told the jury they were going to "lie to you because they know that they fell for his B.S." Flier added, "The pattern of Mr. Walker is to make false promises and they bought it... Each one of these women voluntarily made their own decisions. He didn't force them... It's payback to Mr. Walker and we're not going to let that happen.''

Walker made his acting debut in Halle Berry's 2017 movie Kings. He also appeared in BET's In Contempt series. Before he turned to acting, Walker was an aspiring rapper and recorded the EP The Intermission in 2017. 

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.