Titan worker accused of Iraqi prisoner abuse
A Titan Corp. worker has been accused of taking part in the sexual humiliation of Iraqi detainees, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
A Titan Corp. worker has been accused of taking part in the sexual humiliation of Iraqi detainees, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The defense contractor, which provides translators and interpreters to the U.S. Army in Iraq, was named in an internal Army report about abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the report.
A U.S. official who reviewed the report told the Journal that the unnamed Titan employee admitted he helped hold down three detainees who were "nude, handcuffed to each other and placed in sexual positions."
The report comes at a time investors and analysts are questioning whether Lockheed Martin Corp.'s plan to buy Titan will fall apart due to a bribery probe and an earlier mention of Titan in other prisoner abuse documents.
Lockheed said again on Friday that Titan employees' possible links to prisoner abuse in Iraq should not have a "significant" effect on the deal's outcome.
TAGUBA REPORT
A report by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba that has been widely disseminated over the past three weeks had earlier mentioned a Titan employee, but there were more details in a classified Army Criminal Investigation Division report that had not yet been made public, the Journal said. The division report said the unnamed Titan employee committed "indecent acts" and "cruelty and maltreatment," according to the Journal.
A Titan representative was not immediately available to comment, but Titan spokesman Wil Williams has told the Journal and Reuters that the Army had not advised the company of any wrongdoing by its employees or asked for cooperation in the ongoing investigations into prisoner abuse.
Shareholders have worried that Titan's possible link to the prison scandal could lose cause the company to lose future business, but one consultant said the interrogation unit is so small that its demise would have little impact on the company overall.
"Assisting interrogations is not a core competency within Titan," said Loren Thompson, a
defense analyst for think tank Lexington Institute.
Lockheed spokesman Tom Jurkowsky said the company is monitoring the situation.
"We've had, and continue to have, discussions with senior management at Titan who indicate that the Army hasn't advised them of any Titan employees involved," Jurkowsky said. "Until all the facts are known, it's premature to draw conclusions about one or two Titan employees."
Titan shares were down 17 cents at $18.97 in morning trading. Lockheed has said it would pay $20 per share for the government information technology specialist after cutting its original offer from $22 per share.