KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A Kalamazoo man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, with the conviction coming 19 years after the assault.
39-year-old Shawn Darnell Robinson Hopkins was found guilty Tuesday in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court of two counts of first degree criminal sexual assault causing personal injury, and now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
According to MLive, the victim, now 33, reported the assault to authorities the day after it occurred, but no charges were authorized in the case until January 2023.
Hopkins was charged through the Kalamazoo Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which was established in 2017 to address previously untested sexual assault kits. A DNA profile of the suspect was created after the girl was assaulted in June 2005, but Hopkins’ identity was not confirmed until April 2022. He reportedly fled the Kalamazoo area when he learned he was under suspicion.
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