A U.S. Army specialist has become the first of five suspects to plead guilty in the rape of a young Iraqi teenager and the killing of her and her family. On Wednesday, the soldier, Specialist James Barker, described how he and three others carried out the rape of the girl, 14-year-old Abeer Kassem Hamza al-Janabi, in the village of Mahmoudiya. Barker said Sgt. Paul Cortez held the girl to the ground while her parents and young sister were shot dead in the next room. The soldiers later burned Abeer Kassem Hamza al-Janabi’s body in an effort to cover up the crime. Barker will be spared the death penalty in return for his testimony.