US ex-soldier guilty of Iraq rape

File photo provided by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office of Steven Green from 3 July 2006

Steven Green was found guilty on all 17 counts

A jury in the US state of Kentucky has found a former private soldier guilty of the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her and her family.

Steven Green, 24, faces a possible death sentence for his crimes.

Green was discharged from the army because of an apparent personality disorder before his role in the affair came to light.

Four other soldiers are serving sentences of between five and 110 years for their roles in the 2006 attack.

Three had admitted holding down Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, raping her and then killing her, her parents and her younger sister at the family's home in Mahmudiya before torching the building.

Mr Green was discharged from the 101st Airborne Division before the case came to light.

He was the first ex-soldier to be charged under a US law that allows prosecution for crimes committed overseas.

His sentencing hearing will begin on Monday.

In August 2007, Private Jesse Spielman was convicted of conspiracy to rape and murder and sentenced to 110 years in prison for his role in the incident.

Three other soldiers pleaded guilty and received sentences between five and 100 years under plea agreements with prosecutors.