Soldier guilty of cruelty and maltreatment in Iraq

Soldier guilty of cruelty and maltreatment in Iraq
By JoANNE VIVIANO Associated Press Writer
Posted: 01/18/2010 08:34:16 AM PST
Updated: 01/18/2010 10:39:12 AM PST


COLUMBUS, Ohio—A military panel in Kuwait convicted a U.S. soldier of being cruel and mistreating fellow soldiers, a case undertaken after an Army private from Ohio committed suicide in Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Enoch Chatman, of West Covina, Calif., was convicted Wednesday on two violations of the cruelty and maltreatment article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, said Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a military spokesman in Iraq.

Chatman was one of four soldiers accused of mistreating others in their platoon in Iraq through verbal abuse, physical punishment and ridicule of other soldiers.

The investigation was prompted by the August death of Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, who grew up in Willard in northwest Ohio.

Wilhelm, 19, was in Iraq with his new platoon for just 10 days before he killed himself. His family believes he was treated so badly that he took his own life, but the military has determined there was no direct evidence the four soldiers' misconduct caused the death.
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Soldier guilty of cruelty and maltreatment in Iraq