U.S. Army Contractor Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for Stabbing at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Army contractor was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for 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, 45, of Capetown, South Africa, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.  Brehm pleaded guilty in April 2011 to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  Judge Trenga also sentenced Brehm to three years of supervised release to follow his prison term. 

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, who was a contractor with the U.S. Agency for International Development.  The victim underwent emergency surgery immediately following the incident.

Brehm 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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes Jr. for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney James S. Yoon of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.

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.