Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Texas Woman Loses Rape Case Against KBR

She claimed employees of the military contractor assaulted her

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 9, 2011 9:47 AM CDT

(Newser) – A woman who brought a high-profile rape case against military contractor KBR has lost her suit. A jury in Houston yesterday rejected Jamie Leigh Jones' claims that she was drugged and raped by several KBR firefighters while working in Baghdad in 2005, reports the Houston Chronicle. One of the firefighters she singled out in the suit said the sex was consensual, and the jury agreed. Jones had been seeking an estimated $114 million in the civil suit.

"I was going up against a monster," she tells AP. "I'm devastated. I believe I did the right thing coming forward." Adds her attorney: "It's a shame that Jamie's entire personal history was dragged before the jury when her rapist's criminal history, including violence against women, was suppressed from them." The case took so long to get to court because Jones' KBR contract required that sexual assault allegations be resolved through arbitration. In 2009, partly because of this case, federal lawmakers made made it illegal for US contractors to include that stipulation.

In this June 14 photo, Jamie Leigh Jones listens to a question along with her husband, Kallan Daigle, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Jamie Leigh Jones in a June file photo. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

75%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

Chef Serves Up … His Own Genitals? (Huff Post)

My Boss Walked in on Me Touching Myself, Now He Won't Stop Flirting (Slate)

This Celebrity May Be the Worst Metrosexual Ever (Bleacher Report)

Has Aston Kutcher Been Sneaking Around with Demi Moore's Daughter? (The Stir)

Which Celebrity Was Attacked By a Former Girlfriend? (NewsOne)

Partner Links

Sponsor Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 46 comments

DeafDrudge

Jul 10, 2011 10:20 AM CDT

Saw the HBO special about tort reform this morning and she was on it with her case. Very depressing to watch and now this. Something is very wrong with our system esp. if our former VP and others are screwing us and we don't even know it. I hadn't known for 46 years until today and I was a political science major!

YouLikeDont

Jul 9, 2011 10:52 PM CDT

Fact: Cheney's KBR is raping the American taxpayer.

edtastic

Jul 9, 2011 8:08 PM CDT

I am shocked motherjones has the details sounds likes she was a big liar who has also accused a manager and her sisters boyfriend of rape in the past during doctors visits. http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/07/kbr-could-win-jamie-leigh-jones-rape-trial?page=1 This case makes me sad i really believed her. If a women can get away with lying like that then men have a real reason to be afraid.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rape Conviction Cleared, Thanks to Facebook

80-Year-Old Skydiver Slips Out of Harness

Houston Chronicle (Source Grid »)
Associated Press (Source Grid »)

US • Crime & Courts

Halliburton • Jamie Leigh Jones • KBR • military contractors • rape charges

More Newser Stories

Worker Tells of Rape by US Contractor Crew in Iraq

Jamie Leigh Jones suing KBR

(NEWSER) - A former employee of US contractor KBR recounted a horrifying ordeal in which she was drugged, gang-raped in Iraq by other workers, and then locked in a shipping container by two company guards so she couldn't go to authorities. Jamie Leigh Jones, now 26, testified in a Texas courtroom that she was "scared to death" when she was shut up in the container in 2005 without food or water after she reported the attack to her supervisors. "I'm banging on the door, I say, 'I need to get out of here. I need to contact my dad,'" Jones said in testimony in her lawsuit against the company and former parent company Halliburton. More»

Nigeria Charges Cheney in Bribery Case

Ex-VP's lawyers reject 'baseless' charges

(NEWSER) - Nigeria has indicted former vice president Dick Cheney and several other executives in a bribery case dating back to Cheney's time in charge of Halliburton. Prosecutors from Nigeria's anti-corruption unit allege that Halliburton and other firms paid $180 million in bribes to win a $6 billion contract for a natural gas plant, Bloomberg reports. Former Halliburton subsidiary KBR pleaded guilty last year to federal charges in the US over the bribes. More»

Defense Dept. Opposed Anti-Rape Rule for Contractors

But lefties ripped GOP senators for nay votes

(NEWSER) - When 30 Republicans voted against an Al Franken amendment prohibiting defense contractors from forcing their employees to agree not to sue if they’re raped, Jon Stewart and liberals everywhere went ballistic. But those 30 Republicans weren’t alone, the Huffington Post reports; the Defense Department opposed the amendment as well. The DoD sent a message to the Senate opposing the amendment, arguing that it “may not be in a position to know about such things.” More»

Civilian Contractors Are the 'Vietnam Vets' of Our Time

Workers injured in war zones are the hidden cost of Iraq, Afghanistan wars

(NEWSER) - Thousands of Americans have come home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are veterans in all but name, writes T. Christian Miller—and the benefits afforded veterans. The military's unprecedented reliance on civilian contractors has left thousands injured and disabled with no safety net or public gratitude. Whether they were motivated by money, patriotism, or both, they faced many of the same dangers as American troops, and suffered many of the same injuries. More»

Halliburton Will Pay $559M in Nigerian Bribery Fines

The settlement is the second-largest under the current law

(NEWSER) - Halliburton will shell out $559 million in fines—the largest federal penalty ever paid by a US company for bribery—to the Justice Department and the SEC to settle claims that its former KBR unit greased the palms of Nigerian officials to help get a gas liquefaction facility built, along with other projects dating back over two decades. KBR’s former chief pleaded guilty in September to a scheme to pay $180 million in kickbacks to Nigerian officials involved in the gas facility's construction, Reuters reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Texas Woman Loses Rape Case Against KBR

She claimed employees of the military contractor assaulted her

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Halliburton • Jamie Leigh Jones • KBR • military contractors • rape charges

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Worker Tells of Rape by US Contractor Crew in Iraq

Jamie Leigh Jones suing KBR

Nigeria Charges Cheney in Bribery Case

Ex-VP's lawyers reject 'baseless' charges

Defense Dept. Opposed Anti-Rape Rule for Contractors

But lefties ripped GOP senators for nay votes

Civilian Contractors Are the 'Vietnam Vets' of Our Time

Workers injured in war zones are the hidden cost of Iraq, Afghanistan wars

Halliburton Will Pay $559M in Nigerian Bribery Fines

The settlement is the second-largest under the current law

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?