Murray man accused of raping 2 women in separate cases after old rape kit is tested

Murray man accused of raping 2 women in separate cases after old rape kit is tested

(Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A Murray man is accused of raping two women in his apartment in separate incidents years ago.

But the cases are only coming to light now because of a recently tested rape kit.

Duane Keith Hawk, 41, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with rape and aggravated kidnapping, both first-degree felonies.

In July, Hawk was charged with those same crimes in another case, plus an additional charge of object rape, a first-degree felony. In that incident, a woman told police that in 2016 she arranged to meet Hawk at his apartment using the dating app Meet Me, according to charging documents.

The woman initially went to the apartment with a friend, but as soon as the friend left, Hawk became “aggressive” with her, the charges state. The woman tried to leave, but Hawk threw her onto a couch.

The woman went onto the patio because Hawk would not allow her to leave the apartment, the charges state. Hawk followed and raped her, according to charging documents.

The woman was then allowed to leave and went with a friend to a hospital for an exam. DNA was collected for a rape kit and sent to the Utah State Crime Lab for analysis.

In February, the results from the 2016 rape kit were returned.

In June, police again interviewed Hawk, who had denied knowing the woman in 2016 but “now remembered” meeting her, the charges state. A DNA sample was collected from Hawk which matched the original sample submitted three years earlier, the charges state.

In September, a second woman saw a social media post talking about Hawk’s charges. The woman, a former co-worker of Hawk’s, said she had gone to the same apartment one night in 2017, and Hawk became aggressive with her, the new charges state. Hawk moved his couch in front of the door so the woman could not leave, according to charging documents.

Hawk then picked up the woman and carried her into another room where he raped her, the charges state.

The woman had never reported her alleged assault to police until she heard of Hawk’s prior case.

“This is the second victim who has come forward to report that the defendant brutally raped them. He trapped the victim in his apartment. He then physically removed her to his bedroom,” the charges state.

In the first case, prosecutors noted in charging documents that Hawk has prior criminal history in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His next hearing in that case was scheduled for Feb. 10.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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