Navy SEAL sentenced to demotion, pay cut in war crimes case

Navy SEAL team leader Edward Gallagher will face a demotion and a pay cut after posing for a photo with a dead 12-year-old ISIS fighter in Iraq.

A jury of Gallagher’s fellow soldiers handed down the sentence Wednesday, according to CNN, a day after Gallagher was found not guilty on most of the charges he faced, including premeditated murder.

{mosads}”This has put a black eye on the two communities I love: The United States Marine Corps and the Navy,” Gallagher reportedly told the jury Wednesday. “Most of all, it has put my family through hell the last two years.”

Prosecutors argued in Gallagher’s case that he posed for a photo with the young fighter’s corpse after fatally stabbing the fighter while administering medical assistance.

He was acquitted of murder charges after a witness in the case, who received immunity for his testimony, claimed on the stand to have carried out the killing himself.

Seven other Navy SEALs, meanwhile, testified under oath that Gallagher had committed the murder.

Gallagher’s wife blasted authorities and called her husband an “honorable” sailor in a statement to reporters following the verdict on Tuesday.

“He’s fought every major enemy of the United States. He is a righteous and noble individual,” Andrea Gallagher said, according to CNN. “I think this whole thing is disgusting. I want responsibility to be claimed by Naval Special Warfare.”

President Trump had taken an interest in Gallagher’s case and was considering offering the Navy SEAL a presidential pardon, according to news reports before the sentence was determined.