Iraq stress affected US soldier, says judge

By Robin Pomeroy

Rome - A United States soldier who raped a Nigerian woman in Italy was given a lighter sentence because the court deemed his tour of duty in Iraq had made him less sensitive to the suffering of others.

According to an Italian court document obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, James Michael Brown [ [color="Red"]can't find a photo - must be a Mud ] , a 27-year-old paratrooper from Oregon stationed in northern Italy, was sentenced to five years and eight months for rape in February 2004.

[ [color="red"]Blacks rape - its what they do to survive: Every year there are about 15,000 black-on-white rapes but fewer than 900 white-on-black rapes. There are more than 3,000 gang rapes of whites by blacks—but white-on-black gang rapes are so rare they do not even show up in the statistics. ]

Brown beat and handcuffed the woman, a Nigerian resident in the town of Vicenza. He raped her vaginally and anally and left her to wander the streets naked in search of help.

The crime would have earned him an eight-year sentence, but the judges reduced the penalty due to the "extenuating circumstances" of the psychological effects of Brown's year of service in Iraq, the document said.

Brown, who is being held at a US military prison in Mannheim, Germany, may never serve his rape sentence as, under Italian law, he may be allowed to return to the United States pending an appeal to the conviction.

In a detailed explanation of the reasons for the sentence, the judges said US soldiers in Iraq faced "a guerrilla war against an invisible enemy, conducted using all means, to which there is still no end in sight, which is extremely wearing for the occupation troops".

"For about a year, the professional role of parachutist Brown was not just to kill and capture the enemy, but also to avoid unpredictable ambushes set using all kinds of methods."

"The prolonged psychological stress to which the accused was subjected and the lowered importance he ended up giving to the life and wellbeing of those around him can only have influenced the committing of the crimes."

Brown's lawyer, Antonio Marchesini, denied the soldier had used his term in Iraq as an excuse for rape. "Before it was accepted, there was a detailed examination of his personality," he told Reuters.

Marchesini said he was "partially satisfied" with the ruling. He had hoped to further reduce the sentence due to his client's diminished responsibility.

Brown is set to be discharged from the army, Marchesini said.

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