England pleaded guilty to 7 of 9 Iraqi abuse charges

Lynndie England, the US soldier pictured holding a naked Iraqi detainee on a leash in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, pleaded guilty to seven charges of abuse Monday.

The 22-year-old reservist became a focal point of the Iraq abuse scandal after her photos surfaced, including one that showed her smiling and posing with nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid.

The plea agreement, which came the day before England was scheduled to go to trial, lowers her maximum possible sentence from 16 years in prison to 11 years.

If the plea is accepted by the Army judge, Col. James Pohl, a jury of officers and enlisted soldiers will decide her punishment.

A military court in Fort Hood, Texas, is expected to sentence her later this week.

England, from the West Virginia Eastern Panhandle town of Fort Ashby, was one of seven members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company charged with humiliating and assaulting detainees at the prison.

Four other members of the 372nd and two low-level military intelligence officers have entered guilty pleas, with sentences ranging from no time to 8 1/2 years. Pvt. Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader of the abuses, is the only soldier to stand trial so far.