Man charged with rape after allegedly forcing sex act

IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls man has been charged with rape after he allegedly forced an unwanted sex act on a woman during an otherwise consensual encounter.

Zachary Paul Hoover, 28, is charged with one felony count of rape, a charge that holds a minimum one year sentence and up to life in prison if convicted.

Court documents show in January, Hoover and the victim visited a bar and restaurant before going to his home. Upon arriving, Hoover continually asked the victim to have sex, but she “wasn’t feeling it,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Eventually, after repeated requests, the victim agreed to engage in consensual sex. During the encounter, Hoover allegedly asked the victim to participate in anal sex. Although she repeatedly refused, police say he went ahead and did it anyway, which caused her significant pain. She had to kick him off to get him to stop, according to documents.

Afterward, the victim called a friend to pick her up saying she felt uncomfortable. She went to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center the next day where she spoke with police and was administered a rape kit.

While speaking with officers, the victim showed several text messages between Hoover and her following the alleged rape. In her messages, she confronted him about the anal penetration and reiterated she had repeatedly told him no. She also told Hoover she was in pain as a result.

“I should have never done that… I’m sorry,” Hoover replied, according to court documents.

Police later asked the victim to confront Hoover. She reached him on Snapchat. After the confrontation, Hoover messaged her that he is usually not the type of person he was that night. He also apologized.

In February, Hoover came to the police station to speak with detectives. During an interview he admitted to have been drinking.

He denied raping the victim, but confirmed she had refused anal sex. He also admitted that he may have “missed a couple times,” which may have resulted in accidental penetration. He also told police the victim had not kicked him off.

Police tried asking for a DNA sample from Hoover to compare with potential DNA from the rape kit. Hoover declined while saying he would need to speak with a lawyer.

Hoover appeared in court for his arraignment Thursday before posting $25,000 bond. At that time, the court issued a no-contact order between Hoover and the victim.

Prior to the publication of this article, the victim reached out to EastIdahoNews.com. The victim said she hopes her experience will encourage other women to speak up when incidents like this occur.

Hoover is scheduled for his next court appearance on May 27.