U.S. soldier given 100 years for rape, killing of 14-year-old Iraqi girl

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.

Sgt. Paul Cortez, 24, also was given a dishonourable discharge. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement.

Cortez, of Barstow, Calif., pleaded guilty this week to four counts of felony murder, rape and conspiracy to rape in a case considered among the worst atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq. In his plea agreement, he said he conspired with three other soldiers from the Fort Campbell-based 101st Airborne Division to rape 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi.

Earlier Thursday, tears rolled down Cortez's face as he apologized for the rape and murders. He said he could not explain why he took part.

The military judge hearing the case, Col. Stephen Henley, issued a sentence of life in prison without parole, the maximum for the charges. Under military law, the defendant is given the lesser sentence, unless he violates terms of the plea agreement, which requires Cortez to testify against others charged in the case.

On Wednesday, Cortez described raping the girl in her family's home in Mahmoudiya last March, along with Spc. James Barker, 24. Barker pleaded guilty in November to rape and murder and was sentenced to 90 years in military prison.

Cortez said this week former private Steven Green raped the girl in front of him; shot her father, mother and sister and then shot her in the head. He also testified the soldiers attempted to burn the girl's body; burned their own clothes; and threw the murder weapon, an AK-47 assault rifle, into a canal in an attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Cortez was found not guilty of more serious charges of premeditated murder and conspiracy to premeditated murder.

Privates 1st Class Jesse Spielman, 22, and Bryan Howard, 19, await courts martial. Green, who is accused of being the ringleader but was discharged from the military before being charged, will be prosecuted in a federal court in Kentucky.

From: The Canadian Press (Via Yahoo!News) [http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/070223/world/iraq_us_rape_slaying_1]

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