Convicted rapist Jere Walker, sentenced to life at 17, re-sentenced to 100 years

TAMPA - A Hillsborough County judge re-sentenced Jere Walker to 100 years for the violent crimes that he committed 24 years ago.

Walker, 41, was only 17 when he committed crimes that earned him five life sentences in 1988.

He was the youngest member of a Tampa gang when he was convicted after raping a woman in front of her husband, stealing another woman’s purse, and attempting to shoot a man at point-blank range.

The other seven gang members were sentenced to a variety of sentences.

But Walker went to court Wednesday morning hoping to get a lighter sentence because of a 2010 ruling saying juveniles who don’t commit murder can’t serve life sentences without a chance for parole.

His attorney, John Fernandez, told a judge last Thursday that Walker has served the equivalent of a 47-year sentence, factoring in gain time. 

He asked that Walker be re-sentenced to two years of community control and 10 years of probation.

Walker apologized for the crimes he committed in court last Thursday, calling the rape of the Texas mother “the worst thing you could do to a woman.”

But Walker’s victims, who were also in the courtroom, spoke out, saying they have been serving a life sentence, because his crimes changed their lives for ever.

The rape victim, a Texas woman who was vacationing in Florida at the time of the crime, says that years later, she still feels rage and powerlessness.

The judge had several sentencing options, including releasing Walker for time served, but he was sentenced to century in prison minus gain time and time served. 

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