The failed asylum seeker who threatened a woman with a saw and raped her in front of her boyfriend at a nature reserve has lost his final appeal at Germany s highest court. One of Germany s most high-profile rape cases has come to an end with the dismissal of the defendant s final appeal.
According to reports, the long judicial saga saw the perpetrator repeatedly insult the victim and show a clear lack of remorse for his actions.
Prison already in 2017
African migrant Eric X., 32, was sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison in October 2017 after a court in the western German city of Bonn found him guilty on charges of aggravated rape and predatory blackmail. The Ghanaian migrant, whose asylum application was rejected days before he raped the then 23-year-old woman in April 2017, appealed the sentence.
In September last year, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe overturned part of the judgement and forced a retrial. According to the federal judges, the Bonn district court did not sufficiently acknowledge the rapist s personality disorders, saying that Eric X. is emotionally unstable, narcissistic and has borderline personality disorder (BPD).
Horrific details of rape
In October, his sentence was reduced to 10 years behind bars, however the defendant s lawyer Martin Moersdorf appealed the decision again and the Federal Court of Justice has just dismissed it. The defendant s 10-year sentence is now final as all other appeal options have been exhausted, according to reports.
The horrific details of the rape at the Siegaue nature reserve, where the victim and her boyfriend were camping, have shocked Germany. Eric X. approached the victim and her 26-year-old boyfriend with a machete-like tree saw which he used to cut the couple s tarpaulin tent before demanding money.
He dragged her out of the tent
After taking 6 EUR (5.3 GBP) and a music player from the couple, he threatened them with the weapon and yelled at the attractive blonde: “Come on b*tch, I want to f*ck you.” He dragged the woman out of the tent while brandishing the saw, which prevented her boyfriend from trying to stop him.
He then raped the 23-year-old German woman in front of him. He was later caught when he was recognised walking along the River Rhine in Bonn carrying a stereo he stole from other campers the same evening. During the trials, Eric X. often displayed aggression in court and hurled insults at the victim.
Thinks it was nonsense
When a Bonn district court judge said that DNA evidence linking him to the crime had been found on the victim, Eric X. replied: “If the girl claims she was raped, she must be a prostitute.” When he was presented with the gynaecological report proving the rape, he shouted: “I don t want to hear this nonsense.
“It is all rubbish, bullsh*t. Bring me the girl who is saying such things!” On the last day of the trial, Eric X. was seen with his neck in bandages after reportedly setting fire to his cell. According to reports, the Ghanaian migrant was put in an induced coma to treat the burns that covered over 30 percent of his body.
Eric X. said that he started the fire in June 2017 because he was “frustrated” that he was not given fruit and oats to eat. He will go on trial for arson at a court in Cologne in the near future as the blaze also injured a fellow inmate and a prison guard.