Pearland man Charged With Rape While In Iraq

A former civilian defense contractor from Pearland was charged Friday with sexually assaulting a woman at an Iraqi air base.
David Charles Breda Jr., 34, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in October at Camp Al Asad, Iraq, where he was employed by a subsidiary of Houston-based military contractor KBR Inc.

Breda, who lived in Pearland before he left for Iraq, was arrested Thursday at a Houston-area barber college by agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

A call to his attorney was not immediately returned.

The federal indictment returned Friday in Houston marks the latest allegation of sexual assault involving civilians working for contractors in Iraq.
Jamie Leigh Jones, formerly of Conroe, drew national attention in 2007 when she went public with allegations she was raped by co-workers while working for KBR/Halliburton in 2005.

The Associated Press usually does not identify people alleging sexual assault, but Jones' face and name have been broadcast in media reports and on her own Web site.
After Jones testified about the assault at a Congressional committee hearing, other women also said they were sexually assaulted while in Iraq and testified before Congress. It was unclear whether prosecutors had filed any criminal charges based on those allegations.

KBR and Halliburton, which split in 2007, have disputed Jones' account of how the companies responded to her allegations. KBR did not immediately return a message left Friday for comment.

The indictment did not identify the woman in Breda's case, and it is not known whether she also worked for the contractor.
A detention hearing for Breda is set for Wednesday in Houston. If convicted, Breda faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to a life term of supervised release. He also would be required to register as a sex offender.