From Michigan Department of Attorney General <[email protected]>
Subject Kalamazoo Man Sentenced to 12-50 Years for 2005 Cold-Case Sexual Assault of a Minor
Date February 10, 2025 2:50 PM
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
Last week, Shawn Darnell Robinson Hopkins, 39, of Kalamazoo, was sentenced by Judge Kenneth Barnard in the 9th Circuit Court in Kalamazoo Co





Share or view as webpage [ [link removed] ] | Unsubscribe [ [link removed] ]






Michigan Department of Attorney General Press Release banner [ [link removed] ]




*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*
February 10, 2025




*Media Contact:*
Danny Wimmer <[email protected]>






Kalamazoo Man Sentenced to 12-50 Years for 2005 Cold-Case Sexual Assault of a Minor

*LANSING* – Last week, Shawn Darnell Robinson Hopkins, 39, of Kalamazoo, was sentenced by Judge Kenneth Barnard in the 9th Circuit Court in Kalamazoo County to 12-50 years’ incarceration for two counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for assaulting a minor in 2005, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. A Kalamazoo County jury found Hopkins guilty [ [link removed] ] in November of last year. 

The victim, 14 years-old at the time, reported the assault by the then-unknown man immediately in 2005. Robinson Hopkins was not identified until 2022, 17 years after the assault, via DNA evidence.  

“After so many years following this tragic assault, I hope this sentence will bring a sense of justice to the victim,” Nessel said. “Her courage to come forward and seek accountability for her abuser is truly commendable. I am, as always, thankful for the Kalamazoo SAKI unit in pursuing justice for her and many other survivors of cold-case sexual assaults.”  

“Knowing that the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General were able to bring this survivor a measure of justice makes me proud of the work that we do,” said Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey S. Getting. “This defendant will spend at least the next decade in prison for his actions. A sentence that is well deserved, and one that I hope brings the survivor peace and strength moving forward.”  

At the Wednesday sentencing, the survivor of the 2005 attack told the Court, “My childhood was stolen from me, which altered my adult life. I sometimes wonder how my life could have been had I not had such a traumatic thing happen to me. I want nothing more than to go back in time and have a healthy childhood like everyone deserves but that’s not what I was dealt in life. I’ve had nightmares for years from the assault all the way into my adulthood.” She continued, “I’m now 33 years old and the images of what happened to me as a child will never go away. I’ve been to therapy and though it’s a coping mechanism, it’s not ever going to stop me from remembering the things this man has done to me when I was only a child.” 

In closing, the survivor added, “I still need help dealing with this trauma that may never go away but I pray for my own deliverance from the pain and suffering that I’ve went through and still go through. Even though the case is over, and trial is done, and all the lawyers and jury and everyone who watched during trial gets to move on with life, this incident is something I’ll never forget.” 

This case was prosecuted by the Kalamazoo Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), and this was their 22nd cold-case sexual assault conviction.  

The state’s SAKI was established in 2016 to investigate and prosecute sexual assaults related to previously untested sexual assault evidence kits. The SAKI project provides sexual assault victims with the opportunity to have their cases re-investigated in a comprehensive, trauma-informed manner. The Kalamazoo SAKI is a collaborative project of the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office, and the YWCA of Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo SAKI Team is in the process of investigating more than 200 cold-case sexual assaults that occurred in Kalamazoo County between 1976 and 2015. 

 

###






AG logo [ [link removed] ]





*Media Inquiries* <[email protected]>




*Latest Releases* [ [link removed] ]




*File a Complaint* [ [link removed] ]








Connect with us:

facebook icon [ [link removed] ] x icon [ [link removed] ] youtube icon [ [link removed] ] instagram icon [ [link removed] ] linkedin icon [ [link removed] ] govdelivery icon <[email protected]> threads icon [ [link removed] ]

If you wish to no longer receive emails from us, 
please update your preferences here:
Manage Preferences [ [link removed] ]  |  Delete Profile [ [link removed] ]

Need further assistance?
Contact Us  |  Help [ [link removed] ]

________________________________________________________________________

Get personalized voter information on early voting and other topics at Michigan.gov/Vote [ [link removed] ].

________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Michigan Attorney General · G. Mennen Williams Building, 7th Floor · 525 W. Ottawa St., P.O. Box 30212 · Lansing, MI 48909 · 517-373-1100
body .abe-column-block { min-height: 5px; } table.gd_combo_table img {margin-left:10px; margin-right:10px;} table.gd_combo_table div.govd_image_display img, table.gd_combo_table td.gd_combo_image_cell img {margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px;} table.govd_hr {min-width: 100%;} p, li, h1, h2, h3 { overflow-wrap: normal; word-wrap: normal; word-break: keep-all; -moz-hyphens: none; -ms-hyphens: none; -webkit-hyphens: none; hyphens: none; mso-hyphenate: none; }
Screenshot of the email generated on import

Message Analysis