Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The first U.S. military intelligence soldier to stand trial of prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison was sentenced to eight months in jail, a U.S. military spokeswoman said.

Specialist Armin J. Cruz, 24, also was demoted to private and will be dishonorably discharged, spokeswoman Sharon Walker said in a telephone interview from Baghdad.

Cruz, from Plano, Texas, plead guilty to maltreatment of detainees and conspiracy to maltreat detainees, the U.S. military said in an e-mailed statement. The abuses of Iraqi prisoners sparked outrage worldwide when photos were made public earlier this year.

Since the start of the U.S. invasion in March 2003, there have been more than 1,000 U.S. deaths in Iraq. There are now 138,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and 23,000 coalition forces.

Cruz of the 502nd Military Intelligence battalion confessed at his court martial to ordering soldiers to force naked and handcuffed Iraqi detainees to crawl so their genitals dragged on the floor, Agence France-Presse reported.

The defendant said he ``had no good reason'' for his actions, AFP reported.

Abuses of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan occurred because individual soldiers violated military and international rules of behavior, and senior commanders failed to properly oversee them, investigators have testified in Congress.

45 Cases

In all, investigators referred 45 people for courts martial or other legal or administrative action over events at Abu Ghraib. Courts martial have commenced against seven soldiers. One has already pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in prison and a dishonorable discharge. Also implicated in the investigations were civilian employees of contractors at the prison.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy charged four unnamed SEAL commandos with abusing Iraqi prisoners, failing to report abuse and making false statements.

Walker said that it hasn't yet been decided where Cruz will serve out his sentence.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sean Evers in the Dubai bureau Or at evers@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 11, 2004 10:49 EDT