‘SuperFly’ actor and rapper Kaalan Walker found guilty of raping six aspiring models

‘Superfly’ actor and rapper Kaalan Walker shouted ‘I didn’t rape anybody’ as he was led away in handcuffs after he was found guilty of raping multiple women – some as young as 16 – in a series of attacks dating back to 2013. 

Kaalan ‘KR’ Walker, 27, was convicted Monday on charges involving six woman, three of them 16-year-old aspiring models, and sexually assaulting a seventh woman. Walker faces up to 100 years to life when he is sentenced, but his lawyer, Andrew Flier has vowed to launch an appeal. 

The rapper, who hung his head and sobbed as the verdict was read, had originally been facing more than a dozen counts involving 10 alleged victims, but a Los Angeles jury acquitted him of charges involving three other alleged victims. 

‘I didn’t rape anybody, your honor,’ Walker yelled out as he was led away in handcuffs after the verdict was read Monday. ‘I did not rape anybody.’ 

During closing arguments last week, Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Wallace called Walker a ‘serial rapist’ who lied about knowing Drake and used the celeb’s name and his own verified social media accounts to lure victims to remote locations, promising photo shoots and introductions that never happened.   

‘This was very sophisticated,’ Wallace told Rolling Stone. ‘He picked these girls and he appealed to their dreams and hopes and name-dropped Drake and used his connection to Halle Berry to get these girls somewhere and gain their trust. Once they were there, it wasn’t about doing photo shoots, it was about assaulting them.’ 

The 10 alleged victims were among the more than 30 woman who came forward with assault claims against Walker, prosecutors said. 

Some of his accusers were allowed to testify even if their allegations did not result in the convictions. Others have since spoken out, although the women whose allegations resulted in the convictions have opted to remain anonymous. 

Model Jada Everon, now 23, was only 16 years old when Walker reached out to her on Instagram with the promise of a photo shoot, she told jurors during the six-week trial. She was raped after traveling from Fresno to meet him, she testified.  

‘Honestly, I was shocked when I heard the guilty verdict,’ Everon told Rolling Stone. ‘There are so many rapists who get to walk free, and I was really afraid he would be one of them. But finally there’s justice, finally we’re heard. This was seven years ago for me. Seven years of seeing him on social media, seeing his fame rise, seeing him hurt more women. I just kind of gave up hope, so finally seeing this happening, it’s tears of joy.’ 

Everon told Rolling Stone that Walker lured her into his world by name-dropping Drake and promises of making her rich and famous.  

‘He filled me up with a bunch of hopes and dreams,’ she recalled. ‘What he said was dramatic. He said, “I can make you famous overnight. You can have access to all the famous people I know.” It was very dramatic.’

‘At that age, I was so naïve,’ she said. ‘I was believing everything he said. I thought everything he said was legit. The entire time the assault occurred, every time I said “Stop,” or was crying, he would say, “You’re so immature. I’m not going to help you anymore. I’m going to take it all away from you.” He flipped a switch and became a complete predator.’ 

Another one of Walker’s accusers, model Sydney Stanford, posted an emotional video to Instagram following the verdict, thanking those who testified at the trial. 

Stanford was 19 when she agreed to shoot with Walker in Los Angeles in 2017, but claims he raped her in a locked car on the first night they met, she previously told Rolling Stone.  

‘I’m so grateful for everybody who testified on behalf of all of his victims because I know that not every single voice got the chance able to be heard,’ Stanford said in the Instagram video. 

Another accuser, Tiara Kelly listened to the verdict over a special web connection set up for Walker’s victims.

‘To actively hear the court say ‘guilty’ on multiple counts, I could feel my anxiety lessen,’ she told Rolling Stone. ‘I am elated to know justice has finally been served and we are protected.’ 

The model says Walker raped her after she agreed to meet him for a photo shoot in 2014.  

Walker’s charged victims, whose names were not released, testified at his trial how even if they resisted, he didn’t take no for an answer. 

One victim, who was only 16 years old at the time, told the jury that Walker manipulated her into an impromptu sex tape by promising to introduce her to Drake and fulfilling her dream of becoming a Victoria’s Secret model.

‘He talked about Drake, taking her to a Drake party. What does he tell her? ‘Well, you know what? If you want to do all of these things, if you want to be at parties with Drake, if you want to be a Victoria’s Secret model, you know what we have to do? We have to film a sex tape,’ Wallace said during her closing. ‘He’s a 22-year-old man telling a 16-year-old girl, ‘We have to film a sex tape.’ 

Another woman testified that she was raped by Walker outside a Tyga show at the Belasco nightclub in Los Angeles in January 2014. She said she was raped by someone who had offered to help her. The woman did not know who her attacker was until she got a rape exam and the DNA matched Walker. 

Walker’s lawyer said he plans to file a motion for a new trial based on ‘multiple decisions by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino that limited the information Walker could present about the victims in the case,’ Rolling Stone reported. 

‘I don’t think he got a fair trial, and the fact that he had three acquittals on three of the victims speaks volumes,’ Flier said. 

‘I think it will make his appellate issues a lot more meritorious. But I’m disappointed about the verdicts. The defense was precluded from calling witnesses to show the same pattern but no rape. The judge did not allow us to call witnesses about that same issue, but on the reverse.’ 

Walker had been rapping under the stage name ‘KR’ for several years and released his EP album titled ‘The Intermission. He was also cast in the film Kings, starring Daniel Craig and Halle Berry. 

Walker acted in two episodes of the BET legal drama In Contempt, and later played a hot-headed gang member named Juju in the remake of the 1970s cult classic Superfly. 

During a wide-ranging interview with Billboard in 2018, Walker talked about being raised by a single mother and feeling like a ‘loser’ that nobody would talk to growing up, before falling in love with hip hop.

He also opened up about his struggles with depression and his career aspirations in the realms of music and acting.