LANSING (WWJ) -- An 18-year-old cold case can finally be closed now that the lead suspect -- who fled the state under an alias -- has come forward to face charges.
37-year-old Shawn Darnell Robinson Hopkins of Kalamazoo turned himself in on a warrant for a 2005 rape case and was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Prosecutors allege that in 2005, Hopkins gave a 14-year-old girl alcohol and marijuana before sexually assaulting her. The victim was introduced to her attacker by a friend earlier that evening and could only identify him by his nickname "Chicago."
According to authorities, when Hopkins learned he was a person of interest in the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety's investigation, he fled the state under an alias -- of which he has many.
Hopkins was no stranger to law enforcement and had a history of domestic violence against family members and intimate partners starting in the early 2000s.
Recently, the Kalamazoo Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) connected Hopkins to the 2005 sexual assault through DNA testing.
The SAKI project is a partnership between the Attorney General's office, the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office and the YWCA of Kalamazoo. Through the initiative -- which was established in 2017 and funded by the Michigan Legislature -- cold-case sexual assaults are re-investigated and prosecuted.
"The ties between sexual assault and domestic violence are pervasive and well-documented," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a Friday press release. "This defendant has a track record of multiple violent assaults, and yet his survivors still had the courage to come forward and report their experiences to law enforcement."
The SAKI team consists of a special assistant attorney general, deputized investigators employed by the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office, and a victim advocate/therapist employed by the YWCA of Kalamazoo.
"This case is another example of the tremendous work being done on behalf of the survivors of sexual assault," said Jeff Getting, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor. "No survivor should go unheard."
Because he turned himself in, Hopkins was arraigned and released on a personal recognizance bond on Thursday, Feb. 2. If he fails to show up to his court appearances or violates the conditions of his bond, he will be arrested with bail set at $100,000.
A preliminary examination is scheduled for Feb. 21.
Anyone with information about the case or who has been victimized by Hopkins can email Kalamazoo SAKI Investigator Scott Eager or call him at 269-303-8524.
