A US soldier who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her family was sentenced today to up to 90 years in prison.
Specialist James Barker will be eligible for parole under a plea deal with prosecutors that spared him the death penalty, however.
The sentence was also subject to review by higher military authorities.
Barker, one of four US soldiers charged in the March 12th rape and murder of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and death of her family, pleaded guilty to rape and murder charges on Wednesday and agreed to testify against his former comrades.
It was not immediately clear when Barker could apply for parole. Prosecutors declined to comment because three other soldiers and a former soldier were awaiting trial.
In an unrelated Iraq abuse case another Marine, Lance Cpl Tyler Jackson, was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in prison for his guilty plea to assault in the shooting death of an Iraqi man near the town of Hamdania.
Earlier this month, Jackson became the third military defendant to plead guilty to charges stemming from the shooting death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad (52), a former Iraqi policeman, and will testify for the prosecution.