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AUSTIN, Texas – A man who’s been connected to a 2021 sexual assault in Texas by DNA evidence has been arrested in Oklahoma, state officials announced Tuesday. 

The man is also suspected of committing a similar sexual assault in Oklahoma that same year. 

Multi-state rape suspect arrested

What we know:

Hunter Mackey, 27, is charged with first-degree rape after being arrested in McLoud, Oklahoma, on Feb. 17. 

His alleged crimes happened in 2021 in Fannin County, Texas, and Ardmore, Oklahoma, according to a Tuesday release from the Texas Department of Public Safety. 

He was connected to the crimes through DNA evidence by use of new forensic technology. 

Mackey  is currently being held in the Pottawatomie Co. Jail in Oklahoma.

Texas sexual assault

The backstory:

In the first incident, a female victim reported to Fannin County Sheriff’s Office officials on Oct. 10, 2021, that she had been raped. She told investigators that she had met the man, now believed to be Mackey, through social media. 

She said the man picked her up in a sedan with Oklahoma registration, took her to a separate location and sexually assaulted her. 

DNA evidence was collected from the victim at that time, DPS said Tuesday, and added to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for national comparison. 

Oklahoma DNA connection

Two months after the Texas incident, investigators were alerted to a possible match from the Fannin County DNA evidence and that in another case out of Ardmore, Oklahoma. That case was similar in nature to the Texas one, DPS said. 

Texas Rangers began working with Oklahoma officials to identify the suspect via the DNA samples. No matches or arrests were made at the time. 

In August 2024, the DNA was picked back up and retested through DPS’ Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program. This new testing identified three brothers as potential suspects in September 2025. 

Ultimately, continued testing led to a positive ID in Mackey, resulting in his arrest. 

The Source: Information in this article comes from Texas DPS. 

Crime and Public SafetyTexas