Soldier receives 110 years in rape of Iraqi girl, killings

A soldier convicted of the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and the murders of her family members was sentenced Saturday to 110 years in prison.

The sentence was part of a plea agreement attorneys for Army Pfc. Jesse Spielman had made with prosecutors that set the number of years he could serve in prison, regardless of the jury’s recommendation. He will be eligible for parole after 10 years.

Spielman was convicted late Friday of rape, conspiracy to commit rape, housebreaking with intent to rape and four counts of felony murder. The jury had recommended life with parole, a sentence under which he would have waited longer for the possibility of parole.

Military prosecutors did not say Spielman took part in the rape or murders but that he went to the house knowing what the others intended to do and served as a lookout.

Spielman petitioned jurors for leniency before he was sentenced.

“I don’t really blame my chain of command. I don’t really blame anybody,” he said quietly. “I could have stopped it. I take responsibility for my actions.”

Spielman, 23, of Chambersburg, Pa., received the longest sentence of the soldiers convicted in the case. Spc. James Barker, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard pleaded guilty under agreements with prosecutors and received sentences of five to 100 years.

Defense attorneys left immediately after the verdict was returned and could not be reached for comment.

Spielman had pleaded guilty Monday to lesser charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, arson, wrongfully touching a corpse and drinking.

The case stemmed from the March 2006, rape and slaying of Abeer Kassem Hamza Janabi, 14, and the killings of her parents and younger sister in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad.

Prosecutors rested their case Thursday amid struggles to overcome a soldier’s recanting of an account that Spielman acted as a lookout.

Barker testified earlier that he had allowed investigators to draft sworn statements for him that implicated Spielman.

Barker testified Wednesday that several portions of the document were untrue, including references to Spielman’s role in the conspiracy to attack the family and his knowledge of plans to rape the girl. But Cortez testified that Spielman stood guard.

Steven D. Green, a private who was discharged from the Army before charges were filed, faces a possible death sentence when he is tried in federal court in Kentucky. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include murder and sexual assault.

Barker and Cortez gave investigators conflicting statements about whether Spielman knew of the plan to rape the girl and whether he was present when they discussed it over whiskey and gin, according to testimony.

During their courts-martial, Barker and Cortez testified that they took turns raping the girl and that Green shot and killed her parents and sister. Green shot Abeer in the head after raping her, they said. Her body was set on fire with kerosene to destroy the evidence, according to previous testimony.