Feb 21, 2007 7:10 am US/Eastern
Soldier Pleads Guilty In Iraqi Rape, Murder Case
Court To Consider Plea Deal
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) ―
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The deaths of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, her sister and parents are considered among the worst in a series of alleged atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq.
CBS
A second U.S. soldier has pleaded guilty to the gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the slaying of her family, saying he held the girl down and acted as a lookout while others took turns attacking her.
Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, 24, pleaded guilty Tuesday to four murders, rape and conspiracy to rape. The judge, Col. Stephen R. Henley, adjourned the case until Wednesday to consider the plea.
In the plea agreement read in court Tuesday, Cortez said he conspired with three other soldiers - Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, Spc. James P. Barker and Steven D. Green, who has been discharged - to rape 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi.
According to the plea deal, Cortez, Spielman and Barker illegally went into the home of the girl's family in Mahmoudiya, and Cortez held her while Barker raped her. While Cortez raped her, Green shot and killed the girl's parents and younger sister, the agreement said.
Cortez then acted as a lookout while Green raped the girl, and Green shot her, the document said. Cortez helped burn the girl's body and the home, then burned his clothes.
Spielman threw the AK-47 used to kill the family in a canal, the deal said. Cortez also admitted to drinking whiskey before going to the home, which broke the Army's rules against drinking alcohol.
If the deal is approved, Cortez could avoid the death penalty.
Two other soldiers await courts-martial. All the suspected participants are or were members of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell on the Kentucky-Tennessee line.
The March 2006 killing of the family was originally reported to be the work of insurgents. Later, soldiers told their superiors of their suspicion that U.S. soldiers were involved. The deaths are considered among the worst in a series of alleged atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq.
Barker, 24, pleaded guilty in November to rape and murder and was sentenced to 90 years in military prison. Spielman, 22, and Bryan L. Howard, 23, await courts-martial. Howard, who is confined to the post, was in the courtroom Tuesday observing Cortez's case.
Green is charged in federal court in Kentucky, accused of being the ringleader. He is being tried as a civilian because he was discharged from the Army before his superiors were aware of his suspected involvement.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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