Germany: director of asylum-seekers home convicted of abuse

BERLIN – The former director of an asylum-seeker home in western Germany has been convicted of abusing people in his care.

The Siegen state court on Tuesday sentenced the 38-year-old to 15 months’ probation, and fined him 1,200 euros ($1,365), dpa news agency reported.

The former insurance salesman started running the home in 2013 and told the court he’d let it get out of control to the point where residents were locked into a “problem room” for small infractions and he turned a blind eye to physical abuse. The court said it took into account his full confession in his sentence.

Twenty-six other personnel are separately on trial on allegations they hit residents and pepper sprayed them.

The case caused an outcry in 2014 when video of the abuse was leaked.