VILSECK, Germany — An Army specialist who pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder in the execution-style killing of four Iraqis told investigators the Iraqis’ lives meant nothing to him.

Spc. Stephan A. Ribordy, 25, was sentenced to eight months in prison and given a bad-conduct discharge at a court-martial Thursday for his role in the 2007 incident.

Nine months after the killings, when questioned by Army Criminal Investigation Command agents, Ribordy said, "their lives mean [expletive] to me."

The words came back to haunt the young soldier on Thursday.

Army prosecutor Capt. John Merriam presented Ribordy’s statement to the court, suggesting that it showed he was cocky during the CID interview.

"That’s the accused’s explanation, given to CID, for why he helped the perpetrators get away with this crime. There’s no remorse. There’s a perverse sense of pride," Merriam said.

Ribordy told the court he deployed to Iraq in September 2006 with Company A, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment. While there, he was involved in numerous firefights and saw six soldiers from his company killed in action, he said.

Under questioning from the judge, Col. Timothy Grammel, Ribordy said his unit detained the four Iraqis after they were found with a small weapons cache during a March 26, 2007, patrol.

The men were first taken back to a combat outpost, then driven to a canal.

Ribordy said he was told to pull security in his Humvee. When he got out to go to the bathroom, he found Company A 1st Sgt. John E. Hatley and two other members of the unit — Sgt. 1st Class Joseph P. Mayo and Sgt. Michael P. Leahy Jr. — standing near the bodies of three of the Iraqis.

"There was the smell of fresh gunshots in the air and a lot of blood on the ground. All I wanted to do was get out of there. That way nobody would get caught," Ribordy said.

He told the judge he helped dump one of the bodies into the canal and saw the body of a fourth victim already in the water.

The young soldier, who was Hatley’s driver at the time of the incident, told the court that he believed he had no choice but to help dispose of the bodies, but now realized he made a wrong decision.

Defense counsel, Capt. Kristy Radio, characterized Ribordy, then a private, as an inexperienced soldier under the shadow of a powerful first sergeant.

"He was a private in the Army only a year. It is easy to see how a young private would have looked up to Hatley and never considered questioning him in combat," she said.

In an unsworn statement, Ribordy described Hatley as standing over 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing more than 260 pounds.

"He’s a Joe’s first sergeant who would bend over backwards to take care of his guys. He would put his life on the line for any one of his guys and not think twice," Ribordy said.

First Lt. Benjamin Boyd, the executive officer of 1-2, Headquarters Headquarters Company (formerly HHC, 1-18), who also testified, praised Hatley as: "The quintessential combat leader with the knowledge and experience base to back it up."

Another witness, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Bauer, described Hatley as a "lumberjack" and a "big, strong, burly man" known for his grappling ability and respected by his men.

Both men also spoke highly of Ribordy, saying they would deploy again with him.

But Merriam, the prosecutor, said the murder of the Iraqis was among the more heinous crimes imaginable.

"It is an execution of prisoners and it betrays everything that soldiers stand for. The accused didn’t pull the trigger but he actively and willingly helped those who did to get away with it.

"Nobody expects soldiers to fall in love with the enemy out there… but their lives meant [expletive] to him and the law meant [expletive] to him and that is why we are here today," Merriam said.

The judge sentenced Ribordy to five years’ confinement but under a pretrial agreement — in which Ribordy agreed to testify in future trials in the case — the sentence was reduced to eight months. Under military law, details of the pretrial agreement are kept secret until the judge gives his ruling. The defendant then gets the lesser of the two sentences.

Ribordy also was reduced in rank to private and ordered to forfeit all pay and allowances.

As part of the agreement, the government agreed to drop a charge of conspiracy to commit premeditated murder.