Dog handler convicted in detainee abuse case

But Abu Ghraib interrogator acquitted of the most serious charges

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updated 5:40 p.m. ET June 1, 2006

FORT MEADE, Md. - A military jury on Thursday convicted an Army dog handler of abusing Abu Ghraib detainees, in a trial that produced evidence of high-level pressure and ground-level confusion regarding interrogations at the prison in Iraq.

Sgt. Santos A. Cardona is the 11th soldier convicted of crimes stemming from the abuse of detainees at the prison in late 2003 and early 2004.

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Cardona, 32, of Fullerton, Calif., was convicted of dereliction of duty and unlawfully threatening a detainee with his dog.

But the panel of four officers and three enlisted soldiers acquitted Cardona of some of the most serious charges he faced, including unlawfully having his dog bite a detainee, and conspiring with dog handler to frighten detainees into soiling themselves.

His sentencing hearing was scheduled to begin later Thursday afternoon.