THOMASVILLE — The founder of Relief from the Streets Inc., a mentoring organization, entered a plea to incest and was sentenced by a superior court judge to prison.

Rico Rechae Walker, 39, 5662 Sacramento St., Valdosta, entered the plea in Thomas County Superior Court and was sentenced by Judge James G. Tunison Jr. to 15 years in prison, followed by 15 years of probation.

Probation requirements for the convicted sex offender will be to report as instructed to the probation office, pay a crime lab fee and have no contact with the victim, among other conditions.

Walker is being held in the Thomas County Jail, pending transfer to the state prison system.

In addition to incest, Walker was indicted on charges of child molestation, aggravated child molestation and sodomy.

He was arrested by Thomas County Sheriff’s Office investigators in May 2015, after a complaint was made by the child victim.

Walker “admitted to numerous occasions where he had sexual relations with the child over a period of several years,” Capt. Steven Jones, sheriff’s office public information officer, said at the time of the arrest.

In July 2015, Walker was released from jail on a $100,000 bond.

Thomas County clerk of court records show Walker entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault in 2002, and was sentenced to five years probation and a $500 fine.

In March 2006, Walker surrendered to U.S. marshals at the Thomas County Jail on a cocaine possession charge.

A document filed with the clerk of court by the Thomasville probation office in July 2007 shows Walker was serving a 64-month federal sentence in Pensacola, Fla. The document, which commuted financial obligations of the aggravated assault sentence, said Walker would be released from federal prison on March 8, 2011.

Also in 2002, Walker entered a no-contest plea to a charge of simple battery (domestic violence) and was sentenced to a fine.

At the time of Walker’s arrest, The Relief from the Streets website showed the non-profit, Thomasville-based organization was founded by Walker on June 1, 2011, with the aid of fundraisers and private contributions.

“The program addresses the misguided traits of manhood and seeks to introduce role models who provide positive examples of manhood,” the website showed.

The organization served about 30 young men 8 to 17 years old from Thomasville and surrounding areas.

 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820