Kimberly Rivera, female Iraq War resister, sentenced to 10 months in jail

Kimberly Rivera, the US Army’s first female Iraq War resister, pleaded guilty to two counts of desertion in a court martial at Fort Carson, Colo., today.

The military court sentenced her to 10 months in prison and a bad-conduct discharge.

Rivera, 30, who has four children, is currently pregnant with her fifth, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Rivera, assigned to Fort Carson’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, fled to Canada rather than serve a second tour of duty in the Iraq War, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.

She said that while serving as a front gate guard at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in Baghdad during a 2006-2007 tour, she became disillusioned with the US mission there, the Associated Press reported.

The Canadian authorities denied her refugee status, permanent residency and rejected her requests to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, according to the AP.

Canada deported Rivera in 2012, and US officials arrested her when she crossed the border into the United States.

More from GlobalPost: Kimberly Rivera, first female Iraq War resister, deported and arrested

There were about 200 Iraq War resisters in Canada in 2012, the War Resisters Support Campaign estimates, according to the AP. In addition to Rivera, Canada has deported two other US Iraq War resisters.