Sabrina Harman Sabrina D . Harman ( born January 5 , 1978 , Lorton , Virginia ) is a former United States Army reservist , one of several persons convicted by the U . S . Army in connection with the 2003 - 2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Baghdad , Iraq during and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Harman , with other soldiers , was tried for allowing and inflicting sexual , physical , and psychological abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war . Harman held the rank of specialist in the 372nd Military Police company during her tour of duty in Iraq . She was sentenced to six months in prison and a bad conduct discharge . Harman was imprisoned in the Naval Consolidated Brig , Miramar in San Diego , California . Before Iraq deployment . Harman was born in Lorton , Virginia . Her father was a homicide detective , and the family often saw photos of dead people at crime scenes . Harman ' s mother , Robin , has been described as a " forensics buff . " Harman graduated from Robert E . Lee High School in Springfield , Virginia . After the September 11 , 2001 attacks , Harman joined the Army Reserves and was assigned to the Cresaptown , Maryland - based 372nd Military Police company . Harman worked for a time as an assistant manager at Papa John ' s Pizza in Alexandria , Virginia , before her company was activated for duty in Iraq in February 2003 , and was deployed to Fort Lee , Virginia for additional training ; however , this was in combat support , not I / R ( military jargon for " internment and resettlement . " ) . While Harman acknowledged that she knew there was a lot of wrong being done , she claims she knew nothing about there being any official rules about prisoner treatment ( i . e . , the Geneva Convention ) . Oct 20 , 03 Harman ' s response . 10 : 40pm Kelly , Okay , I don ’ t like that anymore . At first it was funny but these people are going too far . I ended your letter last night because it was time to wake the MI prisoners and “ mess with them ” but it went too far even I can ’ t handle whats going on . I cant get it out of my head . I walk down stairs after blowing the whistle and beating on the cells with an asp to find “ the taxicab driver ” handcuffed backwards to his window with some underwear over his head and face . He looked like Jesus Christ . At first I had to laugh so I went on and grabbed the camera and took a picture . Again I thought , okay that ’ s funny then it hit me , that ’ s a form of molestation . You can ’ t do that . I took more pictures now to “ record ” what is going on . They started talking to this man and at first he was talking “ I ’ m just a taxicab driver , I did nothing . ” He claims he ’ d never try to hurt US soldiers that he picked up the wrong people . Then he stopped talking . They turned the lights out and slammed the door and left him there while they went down to cell # 4 . This man had been so fucked that when they grabbed his foot through the cell bars he began screaming and crying . After praying to Allah he moans a constant short Ah , Ah every few seconds for the rest of the night . I don ’ t know what they did to this guy . The first one remained handcuffed for maybe 1 ½ - 2 hours until he started yelling for Allah . So they went back in and handcuffed him to the top bunk on either side of the bed while he stood on the side . He was there for a little over an hour when he started yelling again for Allah . Not many people know this shit goes on . The only reason I want to be there is to get the pictures and prove that the US is not what they think . But I don ’ t know if I can take it mentally . What if that was me in their shoes . These people will be our future terrorist . Kelly , its awful and you know how fucked I am in the head . Both sides of me think its wrong . I thought I could handle anything . I was wrong . Sabrina " [ She ] said she was assigned to break down prisoners for interrogation . " They would bring in one to several prisoners at a time already hooded and cuffed , " Harman said in interviews by e - mail this week from Baghdad . " The job of the MP was to keep them awake , make it hell so they would talk . " She said her military police unit took direction from the military intelligence officers in charge of the facility and from civilian contractors there who conducted interrogations . " " As a soldier and military police officer , I failed my duties and failed my mission to protect and defend . I not only let down the people in Iraq , but I let down every single soldier that serves today . My actions potentially caused an increased hatred and insurgency towards the United States , putting soldiers and civilians at greater risk . I take full responsibility for my actions . . . . The decisions I made were mine and mine alone . " Citings . Harman ' s attorney said he hoped to see the military chain of command put on trial , rather than low - ranking reservists like Harman . " I don ' t think we can even begin to imagine the kind of environment that she was in . First of all , she wasn ' t trained to be a prison guard , so she didn ' t even know the basic rules . She wasn ' t trained in military intelligence . I don ' t think any American can really truly appreciate the stress that existed along with the fact they were undermanned and not trained to perform this mission , " he said .