Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II, the highest ranking reserve officer involved in the Abu Ghraib Iraq prison abuse scandal has announced he will plead guilty to some of the charges against him.

"I have accepted responsibility for my actions at Abu Ghraib prison. I will be pleading guilty to certain charges because I have concluded that what I did was a violation of law."

Frederick is a W. Va. state prison guard in his civilian life. The allegations against him were very serious:

Frederick is accused of having helped force a prisoner to stand on a box with wires placed on his hands, a scene displayed in one of the photos from the prison. Frederick's charge sheet says the prisoner was told he would be electrocuted if he fell off the box, although the wires were not connected to a power source.

Frederick also is accused of forcing naked detainees into a pyramid position and photographing the scene. He also allegedly ordered detainees to masturbate in front of other prisoners and guards, posing two detainees to simulate oral sex while photographing them. One photo from the prison shows Frederick standing behind a naked prisoner smeared with feces. Frederick's mother, Jo Ann Frederick, has said the inmate spread the feces on himself.

Frederickson initially claimed the abuse was directed by higher-ups. He now says he will accept responsibility: