Man accused of raping girlfriend

Suspect calls affidavit’s claims ‘really disturbing’

A Santa Fe man is wanted on suspicion of beating and raping his girlfriend Sunday during an alleged domestic violence incident.

Kenneth Hogrefe, 24, is wanted on charges of criminal sexual penetration, aggravated battery against a household member and false imprisonment, court documents show.

According to an affidavit filed in the Santa Fe County Magistrate Court by police officers seeking to obtain a warrant for his arrest, a woman told police that she and Hogrefe had gotten into an altercation at a Zepol Road apartment complex Sunday evening after she had been drinking at a bar. According to the affidavit, the woman said Hogrefe had held her down, punched her in the face, choked her until she was unconscious and raped her.

The woman had bruising and broken blood vessels that appeared consistent with her account of abuse, the affidavit says. A nurse who conducted a sexual assault examination also found injuries, according to the document.

Hogrefe spoke with police, the affidavit says, and told them that he got into an argument with the woman about her drinking. When police asked him if the pair had a physical altercation, Hogrefe said he held her down on a bed because she was knocking over items inside the residence. After that, Hogrefe told police, he went to bed and the woman left.

According to the affidavit, Hogrefe has been convicted of battery on a household member in the past. That conviction did not appear in an online search of New Mexico court records, however.

Reached by The New Mexican by phone Tuesday, Hogrefe said he does not agree with the allegations against him, and he is concerned about the woman’s drinking.

“This is quite absurd to me, really disturbing,” Hogrefe said. “… This is not anything of who I am or anything of my nature.”