US soldier gets 110-years for raping girl

A US soldier was sentenced on Aug. 5 to 110-years in jail for raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her family. A court martial found Private First Class Jesse Spielman guilty of rape, conspiracy to commit rape and housebreaking with the intent to commit rape and four counts of felony murder. Spielman had pleaded not guilty to raping and killing Abeer Kassem Hamza al-Janabi and murdering her parents and younger sister, but he pleaded guilty to lesser charges including arson and obstruction of justice. The trial in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, found that Spielman was among a group of soldiers who raped and killed the teenager, murdered her family and torched their home in Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, in March 2006. The murdered girl's surviving family said today they were disappointed that Spielman did not receive the death penalty. The crime outraged Iraqis and significantly increased tensions with American forces in Iraq. "We were expecting the death penalty against those criminals and the place to carry out the sentence is where the incident happened," Janabiat's cousin, Abu Ammar, told Reuters. Her uncle, Hadi Abdullah, said the family wished the sentence could be appealed so that the death penalty could be imposed for all those responsible. Spielman was one of five soldiers charged over the attack. Three soldiers previously pleaded guilty and were given sentences ranging from five to 100 years. The accused ringleader, former Private Steven Green, was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder" and is awaiting trial in a civilian court, where he could face a possible death penalty. Sergeant Paul Cortez and Specialist James Barker, both of whom admitted to raping the girl, received life sentences after pleading guilty earlier this year. Private Bryan Howard, who served as a lookout, was sentenced to 27 months in jail for acting as an accessory and helping to obstruct justice.