An Alexandria jury needed only two hours to convict Chauncey L. Walker of 11 counts of sexual assault, breaking and entering and use of a firearm. The same jury recommended that he serve 118 years in prison.
On September 28, Walker entered a West End apartment and hid in a closet until the two female occupants returned home. He held them at gunpoint and sexually assaulted both. They were finally able to get away from Walker six hours later. He was arrested at the home of a friend who lived in the same complex. Walker's defense was that the women had invited him to their apartment and that they consented to sex.
"Both victims testified and their credibility was never really challenged," said Jennifer Pollard, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney. "We weren't able to find the weapon although the police searched the area around the apartment complex repeatedly."
THE VICTIMS had spoken with Walker in the days prior to the assault. "One of them remembered speaking to him the day of the assault when she was reading a book outside," Pollard said. "The other victim spoke to him when she returned a piece of mail to the apartment in which he was staying."
When the assault occurred, Walker had been out of prison for only a short time. He had been in prison because of drug and weapons convictions.
"These women were terrorized and are still suffering from the incident," Pollard said. "They can enter their home by themselves only because they have a system of putting Velcro on the outside of closet doors. If the Velcro has been disturbed, they know that someone has entered the closet. Their testimony was incredibly moving."
Judge John Kloch has set final sentencing for April 10. Under Virginia law, he may reduce the sentence but may not increase it.