Long Beach bartender sentenced in rape of tourist

A judge sentenced a Long Beach bartender Friday to 10 years in prison for raping a tourist. Denis Edison, 32, was convicted of first-degree rape for drugging a German tourist with GHB, the so-called

News 12 Staff

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Oct 15, 2016, 2:04 AM

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Updated 2,920 days ago

A judge sentenced a Long Beach bartender Friday to 10 years in prison for raping a tourist.

Denis Edison, 32, was convicted of first-degree rape for drugging a German tourist with GHB, the so-called date rape drug, according to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.

The victim was renting an apartment from Edison when the crime happened in November 2015.

Edison's attorney called the incident "consensual" and says he plans to appeal. But the victim and a toxicology expert testified during the non-jury trial that GHB was used.

"I was stripped of body, mind and voice," the victim wrote in a letter to the court from Germany. "I never had a chance to say no, or fight back or defend myself."

Edison will have to register as a sex offender once he is released from prison.

DA Singas also warned women about the dangers of renting rooms through the website CouchSurfing.com, which is what the victim and her friend used to find Edison's apartment.

"As tourists they were excited to be visiting New York and meeting new people, unbeknownst to them however, they walked into the home of a predator," Singas said.