German National Gets 20 Years In Md. Assault

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- A German national who was extradited from Europe on a 10-year-old rape charge has been sentenced in Hagerstown to 20 years in prison for a lesser offense.

Businessman Klaus Von Mahr, 51, was sentenced Tuesday. He pleaded guilty last month to first-degree assault for attacking a Hagerstown woman in her home in November 2000.

After the woman reported the attack, Von Mahr fled to Germany despite having lived in the United States since age 11.

He was arrested in the Czech Republic in October after applying for a driver's license.

Von Mahr acknowledged he bound, beat and choked the woman.

Prosecutors dropped the rape charge as part of the plea deal. They say the woman consented to have sex with Von Mahr because she was afraid of him.

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