BERLIN (AP) — A German court has convicted a 32-year-old Iraqi man of raping two Chinese college students in the western city of Bochum.

The dpa news agency reported Tuesday that the court sentenced the man to 11 years in prison.

The defendant, who wasn’t identified by name, acknowledged in court that he assaulted the women in August and November last year. DNA evidence linked him to both crimes.

The defendant came to Germany as an asylum-seeker more than a year ago with his wife and children.

The victims, who were 21 and 27 years old at the time, had been studying at Bochum university.

The high-profile case was one of several that fanned a national debate in Germany about how to respond to a rise in violent crimes committed by migrants.