Johnthony WalkerNASHVILLE – The bus driver convicted in the 2016 Talley Road Woodmore Elementary crash that killed six children will appear here in court later this week for a preliminary hearing on his new statutory rape charge.
Court records show three people have been subpoenaed to appear in Davidson County General Sessions Court on Thursday: Walker’s alleged victim and two police officers. That hearing gives Walker’s defense its first opportunity to challenge and hear all of the state’s evidence to date.
If Judge Allegra Walker determines there’s enough proof at the end of that hearing, she can send Walker’s charge to a grand jury, leading him one step closer to a new indictment.
Walker, 25, was arrested Thursday night after allegedly telling police he’d had sex with a 14-year-old girl five times over the last few months while staying in Nashville. According to an affidavit filed in Nashville, the girl’s parents called police when they found out last week, and Walker told officers the relationship was consensual.
He is charged with aggravated statutory rape, a Class D felony that carries a maximum punishment of up to 12 years, and is being held on a $350,000 bond.