German doctor convicted of raping, filming patients

A German court has convicted a senior doctor of sexually assaulting and secretly filming almost a dozen female patients at a hospital in the Bavarian town of Bamberg.

Judges at Bamberg's regional court sentenced the 51-year-old to seven years and nine months in prison Monday.

Prosecutors had sought a 15-year sentence for Dr. Heinz W., whose full name wasn't released because of German privacy laws.

Court spokesman Leander Broessler said the defendant was convicted of six counts of rape, five counts of sexual assault, 11 counts of grievous bodily harm for drugging the patients and one case of sexually abusing a defenseless person.

Broessler said W. took over 100 photos and five videos of his victims. The defendant denied the accusations and claimed he had been testing new treatment methods.