Kentucky ? A former soldier in the 101st Airborne Division was indicted Thursday in the rape and death of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the slayings of three of her relatives in March.

Former Army Pvt. Steven D. Green, 21, was charged with murder, aggravated sexual assault and conspiracy, among other offenses, in the federal indictment. If convicted, Green could face life in prison or the death penalty, a Justice Department statement said.

Green’s defense attorney, Patrick J. Bouldin, said that he hadn’t seen the indictment but that his client intends to plead not guilty and “firmly stands behind that plea.”

The incident occurred March 12 in Mahmoudiya, Iraq, a village about 20 miles south of Baghdad, where Green was stationed with the division’s 502nd Infantry Regiment.

The indictment alleges that Green and others raped the girl and burned her body to conceal their crimes. The indictment also alleges that Green and four others stationed at a checkpoint nearby killed her father, mother and 6-year-old sister.

Green was discharged from the Army in May 2006 for a “personality disorder,” according to military investigators, and will be tried in U.S. District Court.