Another U.S. military dog handler was found guilty Tuesday of abusing detainees at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by terrifying them with a military dog.

The defendant, Michael J. Smith, 24, was found guilty by a military jury at Fort Mead, Maryland, of six of 13 counts of abuses and could face over eight years in jail, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge.

A sentence was scheduled later Tuesday.

Military prosecutors said that between 2003 and 2004, Smith used his black Belgian shepherd to intimidate five prisoners for fun and competed with another dog handler trying to make detainees soil themselves.

Nine U.S. soldiers have been convicted of abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib and one of them was given the stiffest sentence of 10 years in prison.

Another dog handler is scheduled to stand trial on May 22.

Smith's trial featured testimony from the former top military intelligence officer at the prison, Thomas Pappas, who was reprimanded and fined in part for authorizing the use of dogs for interrogation without approval.

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who helped shape detention practices at Abu Ghraib, invoked his right to not incriminate himself earlier this year.

A Pentagon spokesman said the verdict proved that the military is holding lawbreakers accountable.

Disturbing photos of detainees being intimidated by dogs and sexually humiliated at the Abu Ghraib were broadcast around the world after the abuses became public in 2004, undermining Washington's efforts to win support for its war in Iraq.

Source: Xinhua