BAGHDAD, Iraq – Multiple criminal charges, including adultery and dereliction of duty, were issued against Military Police Cpl. Charles A. Graner (search) in connection with the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, a senior U.S. officer said Friday.
Other charges made by the Army against Graner, 35, of Uniontown, Pa., included conspiracy to maltreat detainees and cruelty and maltreatment of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison (search), Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said.
Graner will be arraigned May 20 but no trial date has been set.
In one instance, a prisoner handcuffed to a bed with bullet wounds in his legs screamed, "Mister, mister, please stop," as Graner struck him with a police baton, according to statements made to investigators by Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits (search), who took photos of abuse at the U.S.-run prison in Iraq.
Sivits, of Hyndman, Pa., goes on trial Wednesday before a special court-martial in the first trial of defendants in the abuse scandal. He described soldiers laughing and joking as they beat, stripped and sexually humiliated detainees, according to newspaper reports.
"When those pictures first came out, all of us were embarrassed and ashamed," Kimmitt told Fox News Friday.
"But by and large, the leadership has come out and told the troops this isn't about what they did, this is about what you're doing. Continue to convince the Iraqis through your words and deeds that what they saw in those pictures has nothing to do with what you're doing here."
Sivits was expected to plead guilty Wednesday in Baghdad. He has cooperated with prosecutors and faces lesser charges than his colleagues.
Lawyers for the soldiers that Sivits named said his statements were "fabricated" and questionable because of his plea deal.
On Thursday, the military set a May 20 arraignment date for Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick II (search) and Sgt. Javal S. Davis (search). Charges against the soldiers were announced Wednesday. At the arraignment, the men must enter pleas. The military said the date and place for their trials have not been set.
Frederick has been charged with conspiracy to maltreat detainees; dereliction of duty for negligibly failing to protect detainees from abuse; maltreatment of detainees; and wrongfully committing an indecent act by watching detainees commit a sexual act.
Davis has been charged with conspiracy to maltreat detainees; dereliction of duty for failing to protect detainees from abuse; maltreatment of detainees; rendering false official statements and assault.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, under fire for his handling of the scandal, paid an unannounced visit Thursday to Iraq — including the Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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