KERRVILLE — Allegations of sexual misconduct between the father of convicted murderer Matt Baker and former foster children surfaced during testimony Friday in a custody battle for Baker’s two daughters.

Oscar Baker, who is one of the grandparents fighting for custody of the girls, ages 15 and 10, was accused of inappropriately touching, kissing and having intercourse with former foster children about  30 years ago.

Matt Baker’s two daughters live in Kerrville with his parents, who are being sued for custody by his late wife Kari Baker’s parents, Jim and Linda Dulin.

According to the four women who testified, the abuse began when they were between 7 and 12 years old. The women described each incident they could recall.

Millie Van Steenburg was the only woman to accuse Oscar Baker of having intercourse with her. Van Steenburg said Oscar Baker started abusing her when she was 7 years old by touching her genitals while she was in the bathtub. 

She blotted tears from her eyes as she explained how the abuse escalated from Oscar Baker touching her through her pajamas while tucking her into bed to having her perform oral sex and eventually intercourse multiple times a week. 

She said she never reported the abuse because she was scared of the Bakers. She said he and his wife, Barbara Baker, told her “God was watching,” and she would never be able to return home to her mother.

Van Steenburg testified that Barbara Baker was “very controlling and demeaning” to her and the other foster children and would take away gifts from her mother. 

The experience in the home with the Bakers “injected a sense of guilt” that Van Steenburg said she carried with her forever.

Laurie Miller Hardin testified she remembered Oscar Baker touching her while she was wearing a bathing suit, tracing a finger across the lower portion of her buttocks and down her leg. 

Connie Mirfakhraie of Florida said she had a hazy memory but could still remember certain details of Oscar Baker French kissing her at the age of 12.

“I recall being very scared, and the smell and the taste being very alien and disgusting,” she said.

Mirfakhraie said she did not feel the event significantly affected her life, but it concerns her as a parent now looking back. 

Betsy Maloney, who lives in Nevada and is handicapped, testified not only about sexual abuse by Oscar Baker, but of emotional abuse from Barbara Baker, who she accused of calling her names such as “Porky Pig” and “fatso.”

The other foster children also testified Barbara Baker verbally abused them, saying she even encouraged the other children to make fun of Maloney. 

Maloney, who was visibly uncomfortable and nervous on the stand, said Oscar Baker would abuse her while she was vacuuming the living room of their home. 

“He touched me in wrong places,” she said. 

Maloney said she reported the abuse to her case worker and was sent to the State Hospital in San Antonio. 

She said the abuse continued after she returned to the Bakers’ home and lasted until she was 17, but she “kept her mouth shut” about it because she didn’t want to have to move around again. 

The women who testified said the Dulins paid for their airfare and hotels while in Kerrville for the trial.

They also said they were asked to testify and learned about the case through the Dulins’ private investigator. 

Cross examination

During cross examination, the Bakers’ attorneys attempted to discredit the women’s testimonies by asking about their backgrounds and alluding to their instabilities.

The attorneys particularly focused on Van Steenburg, who under cross examination admitted to being sexually abused by several men, including her brother.

During cross examination, Van Steenburg testified of a suicide attempt, her “incestuous relationship” with her brother and time she spent in a mental institution. 

Other attempts to discredit Van Steenburg included questions about her three marriages, behavior growing up and other sexual assaults. 

The allegations of abuse were denied previously by Oscar Baker, who took the stand Thursday, when the details had not yet been discussed. 

All of the women who testified said they were worried about the well-being of anyone in Oscar and Barbara Baker’s care.

Although none of them made any formal reports of their abuse, documentation from hospital records for Van Steenburg proved she mentioned abuse while at Laurel Ridge Hospital in San Antonio in 2004.

The trial will resume at 9 a.m. Monday.

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