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(23 Feb 2007) HEADLINE: Soldier Gets 100 Years for Rape, Killing --------------------------------------- CAPTION: A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year. (Feb. 23) ---------------------------------------- [Notes:ANCHOR VOICE] [Notes:various of house where rape occured] Army Sergeant Paul Cortez and four other soldiers were charged with raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl in this house in Mahmoudiyah, Iraq. [Notes:various of house where rape ocurred] Cortez admitted to his part in the crimes. As part of a plea deal, he described the rape and murders. He says... [Notes:pan down on wall with burn marks] after the girl was raped, the soldiers tried to hide the crime by burning her body, then tried to dispose of evidence. [Notes:graphic of soldier in gas mask playing cards] Cortez admitted he and three other soldiers cooked up the plan to rape the girl while they were drinking and playing cards. [Notes:courtroom sketch of henley behind bench] Thursday, Army judge, Colonel Stephen Henley sentenced Cortez to the maximum of life without parole for the rape of an Iraqi girl. [Notes:graphic with sentence] Military law allows for a lesser sentence unless Cortez violates the terms of a plea deal. That agreement lowers the jail time for the 24-year old to 100 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge. He is eligible for parole in ten years. [Notes:various of rape scene] One of the other soldiers involved has already been sentenced to 90 years in prison after pleading guilty. Two more are still waiting for their courts-martial. [Notes:file of green and Kentucky courthouse.] A fifth soldier who is accused of being the ringleader, is no longer in the Army. He will face charges in a federal court in Kentucky. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/2879f4fb711b566062dd02aacea1e56d