19 years later, a man is found guilty of raping a teenager at a Kalamazoo music studio

KALAMAZOO, MI – Nineteen years after Shawn Darnell Robinson Hopkins sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in a music studio, he is going to prison.

After a weeklong jury trial, Hopkins, now 39, was found guilty in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court on Tuesday, November 26, of two counts of first-degree assault causing personal injury.

Hopkins now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The victim, now 33, reported the attack to authorities the day after it occurred, but no charges were filed in the case until January 2023. Hopkins, of Kalamazoo, was charged in February 2023 and sent to Kalamazoo County Circuit Court for trial. a preliminary hearing two months later.

RELATED: The Kalamazoo man was accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in 2005 and went to trial

A DNA profile of the suspect was immediately created, but Hopkins’ identity was not confirmed until April 2022, the attorney general’s office previously said.

Hopkins was ultimately charged through the Kalamazoo Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which was created in 2017 to address previously untested sexual assault kits and, where possible, provide solutions for victims.

“This case is yet another example of the tremendous work being done on behalf of survivors of sexual assault,” Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said previously. “No survivor should go unheard.

“I hope that this case, and others like it, will make those who wish to attack others in the community aware that there are serious consequences for their actions.”

RELATED: DNA testing leads to charges against a Kalamazoo man for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2005

The victim testified at the preliminary hearing in April 2023 that she met Hopkins through a friend just a few hours before the attack occurred on June 17, 2005.

She knew him only as “Chicago,” one of his many aliases, according to authorities.

Hopkins, who was 21 at the time, allegedly gave the girl alcohol and marijuana. Once she was drunk, he allegedly forced her to the ground before penetrating her, she testified.

The case was immediately investigated by the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, but Hopkins initially allegedly fled when he learned he was a suspect.

“Filing charges in cold case sexual assaults requires continued courage from assault survivors and determination from investigative teams,” Attorney General Dana Nessel previously said. “The Kalamazoo SAKI team is among the most prolific cold case sex crime teams in the state and I am grateful for their tireless work leading to these charges.”

A sentencing date for Hopkins was not immediately made available.

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