FRANK SESNO, CNN ANCHOR: We begin overseas, where a U.S. soldier serving as a peacekeeper in Kosovo has been charged with killing an ethnic Albanian child and committing an indecent act with her. CNN's Patricia Kelly has the story.</s>PATRICIA KELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The body of the 11-year-old girl was found Thursday. Her father says he last saw her that morning when she left home to go to the local market.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They killed her 20 meters from our house. She was just 11 1/2 years old.</s>KELLY: Her family were able to identify the child from a photograph given to them by U.S. military. Her face appeared battered and bruised. The U.S. Army says it is investigating the murder. A 35-year-old staff sergeant, Frank Ronghi, has been charged with murdering the girl. The accused, a weapons squad leader from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is being held under arrest in Mannheim, Germany.</s>DEBBIE ALLEN, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER: At the conclusion of the investigation, the investigating officer will recommend to the convening authority whether the charges should be referred to a court martial.</s>KELLY: This is the first time a soldier from any country serving with NATO's Kosovo force has been charged with such a serious crime. The U.S. military are widely regarded as heroes by Kosovar Albanians, but local residents where the girl was murdered claim they have complained about soldiers from the nearby U.S. base searching young girls for weapons. Patricia Kelly, CNN, Brussels.
U.S. Soldier Charged with Molesting, Killing Ethnic Albanian Child