A Long Beach bartender who raped a German tourist he lured to his apartment with a couchsurfing.org listing has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Dennis Edison was accused of drugging and raping a then-21-year-old German tourist and was found guilty of rape and sexual abuse after a trial in August. According to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, Edison falsely claimed on the site that his Long Beach home was in New York City and also lied about his age. During the first two nights the young German tourists stayed at his home, Edison cooked them dinner to put them at ease.
On the second night of their stay, Edison put GHB, commonly known as "the date rape drug," in his guests' cocktails and then raped one of them while she was incapacitated. His victim woke up with oil on her legs and severe pelvic pain, and both Germans left Edison's house the next morning.
While GHB leaves the bloodstream quickly, a forensic pathologist testified that the vomiting and memory loss Edison's victim experienced was consistent with the after-effects of being drugged with GHB according to Newsday.
