As advised by the authorities on Monday, the 31-year-old Ghanaian man entered Germany illegally in Munich at the beginning of February, to where he had travelled from Italy via Austria. On 9 February, he was arrested in Kas­sel and on 20 February he was sent to an initial reception centre in Dort­mund. From here, he moved to Sankt Au­gus­tin at the beginning of March.

Since February, the former in­for­ma­ti­on and media headquarters for the German army on Al­ten Heers­tra­ße has been serving as an accommodation facility for young asylum seekers who will be deported. The reason for this is that their applications must be checked in accordance with the Du­blin-III Agreement in the EU state in which they were first registered. This affects the 31-year-old Ghanaian, who had already made an application in Italy.

As Ghana is classified as a safe country of origin, according to GA information, the application was rejected by the Italian authorities. The Federal Office for Migration in Germany came to the same decision. By launching an appeal, the man delayed the final decision on his case. The average amount of time spent in the so-called deportation centre on Al­ten Heers­tra­ße is three months, a spokeswoman for the district government said in response to our enquiry. Around 350 of the approximately 480 residents are affected by the Du­blin III Agreement. In Sankt Au­gus­tin the central accommodation facility has led to discussions about security in local politics and amongst local residents.

The 31-year-old man had allegedly already been involved in a violent scuffle in the ZUE. On 8 March the police intervened and submitted a charge against him for bodily harm. Little is known about the background and course of events. His 23-year-old counterpart did not have any visible injuries. Currently, there are no indications that the man was known as a sexual predator in Germany before the incident in Sie­gaue took place. Police considered this possibility at the beginning of their investigations and searched through the databases of other departments.

It was not necessary to search for him on account of his illegal residence in Germany, because ultimately his official place of residence was already known – at least on paper – as Sankt Au­gus­tin. “Manhunts and deportation are only applied when someone disappears several times,” explained Va­nes­sa Nol­te from the district government. And whoever is awaiting a legal decision has no pressing reason to disappear. This begs the next question in this case - one which is receiving intensive media coverage - why did no-one in the Sankt Au­gust­in accommodation facility think that the wanted man – who the photo-fit firmly described – could be a resident in the centre? The identity of the wanted man was completely unknown by the police up until his arrest on Saturday.

The Bonn FDP state parliament member Jo­achim Stamp is taking this issue up in an enquiry with the federal state parliament. The spokeswoman of the district government tried to explain it was due to the “mass of residents” and the fact that the photofit picture was not a realistic match.

In the meantime, the 31-year-old denies committing the brutal crime in the Sie­gaue and remains silent. The evidence against him seems overwhelming – he was found with the weapon which was used in the attack and his DNA matches that found at the scene of the crime. During the night of 2 April, a couple who were camping in the Siegaue were brutally attacked by the offender using stolen gardening shears. The 23-year-old woman was raped. The suspect was arrested on Saturday.

(Original text: Rüdiger Franz / Translation: Caroline Payne)