Ethiopian guard sentenced for immigration crimes

DENVER (AP) — A man identified as a brutal Ethiopian prison guard has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for immigration violations.

Kefelgn Alemu Worku was given the maximum possible sentence Friday in federal court in Denver.

Judge John Kane said the long term was necessary to protect the country's immigration process.

The judge said Worku would likely be deported after serving his sentence.

He was convicted of assuming another man's identity and lying on U.S. immigration forms. He has denied committing acts of political persecution.

Worku was spotted by chance at an Ethiopian restaurant in 2011 by a man who alerted authorities.