Suspect in camper’s rape in Germany goes on trial

BERLIN – A Ghanaian man has gone on trial in Germany accused of raping a camper at knife-point in front of her boyfriend days after being denied asylum.

Prosecutors say the 31-year-old man attacked the woman April 2 while the couple was camping near the western city of Bonn.

He was arrested five days later and police say DNA evidence linked him to the crime. The defendant, who wasn’t identified due to German privacy rules, also had a loudspeaker he had stolen from the couple.

The man, who denies allegations of rape and aggravated extortion, went on trial Monday in Bonn.

Details of the case prompted outrage in Germany, where high-profile crimes committed by asylum-seekers have fed a public debate about immigration in recent years.