The highest-ranking Army reservist charged in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal pleaded guilty yesterday to eight counts of abusing prisoners. Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick II admitted he had forced prisoners to masturbate, sucker-punched a hooded detainee and strapped wires to a prisoner who feared that he would be electrocuted if he fell from a box. According to a pool report from the Associated Press, Frederick told the judge that he was following the lead of military intelligence officers even though he knew what he was doing was wrong. In the wiring episode he said an Army investigator had wanted a prisoner who reportedly knew the whereabouts of soldiers’ remains “stressed out” to talk more, according to a pool report provided by The Associated Press. The investigator said it did not matter how badly the Iraqi was treated “as long as you don’t kill him.” During the court proceeding Frederick said he saw detainees who were “naked, handcuffed to their doors, some wearing female underclothes.” This all happened upon orders of military intelligence officers. Frederick said QUOPTE “Nudity was to humiliate and degrade them for military intelligence purposes. It was very embarrassing for an Arabic male to be seen nude by another.”