Ex-US soldier pleads innocent in Iraq rape, murder

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov 8 (Reuters) A former U S soldier pleaded not guilty today in federal court to charges he participated in a gang rape of an Iraqi girl and murdered her and her family in March.

If convicted, Steven Green, 21, faces a minimum of life in prison and could be sentenced to death, prosecutors said in court.

Green and four other soldiers who are still in the Army are accused of sexually abusing the 14-year-old girl, then killing her, her father, mother and 6-year-old sister. Green is accused of obstruction of justice for trying to burn the bodies to conceal the crime.

The others face potential death sentences in military trials. A fifth soldier is charged with trying to cover up the March 12 incident in Mahmudiya, Iraq.

The Mahmudiya murders sparked outrage among Iraqis and prompted some calls to prosecute U S soldiers in Iraq for crimes committed there.

The case is one of three where U S service members are to be tried by the military for the murders of Iraqi citizens.

Green was discharged from the Army's 101st Airborne Division for a ''personality disorder'' and was indicted on 17 charges by a civilian grand jury last week.

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