Jamie Leigh Jones

Jamie Leigh Jones (born 1984) is a former KBR employee whom seven KBR employees drugged and gang-raped on July 28, 2005 at Camp Hope, Baghdad, Iraq. She has filed a lawsuit against the company and the employees.

She is the founder of the Jamie Leigh Foundation, an advocacy agency for victims of sexual assault.

Incident
Jones began working for KBR as an administrative assistant in 2004 when she was 19, and started her contract of employment with Overseas Administrative Services, Ltd. in Houston, Texas on July 21, 2005.

According to Jones, on July 28, 2005, several of her fellow KBR employees offered her a drink containing a date rape drug, of which she took two sips. While she was unconscious, the men then allegedly engaged in unprotected anal and vaginal gang-rape upon her. She was able to name one of her attackers based on his confession to her, but was unable to identify the others due to her unconsciousness. Further, the lawsuit filed by Jones' attorneys cites the following: "When she awoke the next morning still affected by the drug, she found her body naked and severely bruised, with lacerations to her vagina and anus, blood running down her leg, her breast implants ruptured, and her pectoral muscles torn – which would later require reconstructive surgery. Upon walking to the rest room, she passed out again." Jones' account was confirmed by U.S. Army physician Jodi Schultz. Schultz gave the rape kit she used to gather evidence from Jones to KBR/Halliburton security forces, after which the rape kit disappeared. It was recovered two years later, but missing crucial photographs and notes.

Jones was confined by armed guards to a shipping container containing only a bed, under the orders of her employer, KBR. She says she was denied food, water, and medical treatment. After approximately one day, says Jones, a sympathetic guard gave her a cell phone and she called her father, Tom, who in turn contacted Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) who contacted the State Department. Agents were dispatched from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and removed Jones from KBR custody. In May 2007, a State Department diplomat recovered the rape kit from Halliburton and KBR. However, notes and photographs taken by Schultz (of Jones the morning following her rape) were missing, undermining any chances of bringing the case through the criminal courts.

Involvement in civil lawsuit
In the complaint filed by Jones, her husband, and their attorneys, only one assailant is named in the incident. On the morning following the rape, the named alleged assailant admitted to Jones that he had had unprotected sex with her. However, Jones claims that due to unconsciousness, she is unable to identify the other alleged rapists.

Subsequent life
After returning to the United States, Jones has worked with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Justice, several attorneys, and State of Texas Workmen's Compensation and the Assistant United States Attorney.

She obtained an Associates of Art degree from North Harris College in 2007. Later, Jones was pursuing a Bachelors of Criminal Justice, American Military University, and expected to graduate from the program in March 2008. No current status on how her studies went are available.

Jones met a member of the U.S. Navy, an aviation mechanic, Joseph Kallan Daigle in 2005, and the two married in September 2006.

Inaction by the United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has brought no criminal charges against the alleged assailants. Because of CPA Order 17, which limits the power of the Iraqi government to pursue legal action against foreign contractors working in Iraq, it is possible that her assailants may not face any legal penalty for the alleged crime — at least by the Iraqi government itself.

However, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 1, § 7, of the United States Code, entitled "Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States defined," the United States has jurisdiction over the following:


 * "(7) Any place outside the jurisdiction of any nation with respect to an offense by or against a national of the United States."

Because CPA Order 17 provides limited immunity for U.S. contractors from the Iraqi government, this offense may be outside Iraqi government's jurisdiction. Therefore, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 1, § 7, paragraph 7, of the United States Code, would apply because Jones is a national of the United States.

Further, on December 19, 2007, during Jones' testimony, Congressman Robert Scott (D-VA) stated that the DOJ "can enforce with respect to contractors who commit crimes abroad, but it chooses not to."

Moreover, Poe &mdash; a former judge &mdash; stated, in a recent interview, that the United States has jurisdiction over U.S. contractors in the following:

Well, I agree with Brian that there is jurisdiction &mdash; that the United States government has jurisdiction of this case. As a former judge, I agree with him totally. The federal government needs to pursue it.

Civil lawsuit
On May 16, 2007, Jones filed a civil lawsuit against KBR and former parent corporation Halliburton, and Charles Boartz (a "person of interest" in the case). KBR requested a private arbitration, and claims this is required by her employment contract. On September 15, 2009, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Jamie Leigh Jones' federal lawsuit against KBR and several affiliates can be tried in open court. On January 19, 2010, KBR petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 5th Circuit decision allowing Jones to bring her case in a civil court rather than in arbitration. The civil lawsuit began in the Southern District of Texas on June 14, 2011.

Testimony before Congress
On December 19, 2007, Jones testified before Congress about her experience of the incident with Poe.

In response to her testimony, Scott stated that the DOJ "seems to be taking action with respect to enforcement of criminal laws in Iraq only when it is forced to do something by embarrassing media coverage."

Further, the DOJ was subpoenaed to appear before Congress.

Jones testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on October 7, 2009, concerning Senator Al Franken's amendment to the FY 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill, to restrict contracts with companies which use mandatory arbitration in their employment contracts. This measure was passed by the Senate, prompted by her case.