Armin Cruz is a former United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 reservist, one of several soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

s charged and convicted by the U.S. Army in connection with the 2003-2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 during and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

.
He was an intelligence analyst for the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade

205th Military Intelligence Brigade

The U.S. Army's 205th Military Intelligence Brigade and its three battalions have a history dating back to World War II. The brigade has been in a continuous active service since 1944. The brigade was constituted on 12 July 1944 in the Army of the United States as the 205th Counter Intelligence...

 during this time. He was represented by military lawyer Stephen Karns

Stephen Karns

Stephen P. Karns is a Dallas-based civilian lawyer who specializes in defending U.S. military personnel in criminal cases in the U.S. military legal system. In 2004, Karns represented U.S. Army Reserve intelligence analyst Armin Cruz at the latter's trial for his role in the Abu Ghraib prisoner...

. In return for a guilty plea, he was sentenced to eight months confinement, reduction in rank

Reduction in rank

Reduction in rank may refer to two separate concepts:*In military law, a reduction in rank is a demotion in military rank as punishment for a crime or wrongdoing, imposed by a court-martial or other authority...

to private and a bad conduct discharge.