Rejected Ghanaian asylum-seeker convicted of rape in Germany

BERLIN – A rejected asylum seeker from Ghana has been convicted of raping a camper in Germany.

The dpa news agency reported Thursday the 31-year-old man, whose name wasn’t released in line with privacy laws, received 11 1/2 years in prison.

The man had denied the rape, but the Bonn state court found that DNA evidence clearly linked him to the attack.

The defendant entered Germany from Italy in February after being denied asylum there and his request for asylum in Germany was rejected March 23.

Authorities say on April 2 he attacked a couple camping near Bonn with a saw, and raped the 23-year-old woman in front of her boyfriend.

The case prompted outrage across Germany, where high-profile crimes committed by asylum-seekers have drawn particular public scrutiny in recent years.