Sergeant Michael J. Smith was sentenced to six months behind bars for using his dog to torment detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
The military jury handed down his sentence one day after Smith was convicted after a brief trial at Fort Meade, Maryland. He was also demoted to private and will forfeit $2,250 in pay. Smith will also receive a band conduct discharge.
Smith was sentenced on five charges including entering into a competition with another dog handler to see who could get detainees to soil themselves first.
After his conviction on Tuesday, Smith seemed unmoved. 'Soldiers are not supposed to be soft and cuddly,' he told reporters.
Smith had said he was just following the instructions given to him by his superior officers. Prosecutors said he was one of a small group of rogue soldiers who were abusing detainees. Thus far, no high ranking officer has been convicted in the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
