Contractor Pleads Guilty to Assault in Relation to Stabbing at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON—A U.S. Army contractor pleaded guilty to assault today in relation to stabbing another individual with a knife at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the Eastern District of Virginia, and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Sean T. Brehm, 44, of Capetown, South Africa, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga to assault resulting in serious bodily injury. At sentencing, scheduled for July 8, 2011, Brehm faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

According to court documents, the stabbing took place on Nov. 25, 2010. At the time of the stabbing, Brehm was working as a contractor for DynCorp International LLC, a U.S. Army contractor in Afghanistan. According to court documents, the stabbing resulted in serious bodily injury to the victim and the victim underwent emergency surgery immediately following the incident.

The defendant was charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), a statute that gives U.S. courts jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed outside the United States by, among others, contractors or subcontractors of the Department of Defense.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney James S. Yoon of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes Jr. for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division and the International Security Assistance Force Military Police conducted the military investigation. The Office of Military Justice for Regional Command - South and 10th Mountain Division, and the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate for Regional Command - South provided invaluable assistance.