AAS 10/16/09
Ex-contractor pleads guilty to sex assault in Iraq

HOUSTON — A former civilian defense contractor accused of sexually assaulting a female co-worker at an Iraqi air base pleaded guilty Friday to abusive sexual contact.

David Charles Breda Jr., 34, of Pearland, was ordered to remain in federal custody pending sentencing Jan. 15. The guilty plea could mean up to two years in prison and lifetime status as a registered sexual offender for Breda.

Prosecutors alleged Breda jumped and fondled the woman in October 2008 at Camp Al Asad, Iraq, where he worked for a subsidiary of Houston-based KBR Inc. Breda was a former Army recruiter who also had been punished for inappropriate sexual behavior with an 18-year-old federal recruit, according to testimony at a detention hearing following Breda's arrest in July.

Breda's indictment marked the latest allegation of sexual assault involving civilians working for contractors in Iraq. The indictment did not identify the woman in his case, and it is not known whether she also worked for the contractor.