Serbian man convicted of series of rapes in Berlin

BERLIN – A Berlin court on Monday convicted a 30-year-old man over a series of rapes that occurred in and around the German capital last summer.

The court sentenced the defendant, a Serbian national whose name wasn’t released for privacy reasons, to 14 years in prison. Judges deemed him a dangerous offender, meaning he can be held in prison after his sentence has been served.

During the trial, the man admitted to the allegations of six rapes, one attempted rape, bodily harm and attempted robbery, the German news agency dpa reported. The victims were aged between 14 and 27.

The crimes were carried out in wooded areas of southwest Berlin and neighbouring Brandenburg state.