Five Soldiers Charged in Iraqi Rape, Murder Case
Charges have been preferred against four U.S. soldiers accused of rape and murder in connection with the deaths of
four Iraqi civilians in March. A fifth soldier has been accused of
dereliction of duty for failing to report the offenses, U.S. officials
announced today.
The five soldiers were charged yesterday in connection with their
alleged participation in the rape and murder of a young Iraqi woman and the
murders of three members of her family. The fifth soldier was charged
with dereliction of duty for his failure to report the rape and murder
of these Iraqi civilians, but is not alleged to have been a direct
participant in the rape and killings, officials said in a statement.
All are charged with conspiring with former Army Pfc. Steven D. Green
to commit these crimes. Green, 21, a former 101st Airborne Division
soldier, was arrested June 30 in connection with the incident, according to
a July 3 announcement by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western
District of Kentucky.
Green was deployed from September 2005 to April 2006 and was discharged
from the Army May 16. Army officials declined to disclose the
circumstances of his discharge, citing privacy protections under the Health
Information Privacy Protection Act.
The preferral of court-marital charges is merely an accusation,
according to today's statement. "Those accused are presumed innocent until and
unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," officials stated.
The next step in the legal process will be an investigation pursuant to
Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Article 32
investigations are similar to grand jury hearings in civilian courts
