Washington  - A former US Army soldier convicted of raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing the rest of her family was sentenced Thursday to life in prison by a jury in federal civilian court in Kentucky, CNN reported.

Private Steven Green, 24, received a life sentence in a federal court in Paducah, Kentucky, after the 12-member jury could not reach consensus on the death penalty sought by the prosecution.

Green raped the girl and then led the slayings of the girl, her 6- year-old sister and their parents in an attempt to cover up the sexual assault, which took place in 2006 in a village about 35 kilometres south of Baghdad.

Three other soldiers were already convicted of lesser roles in the case by military courts. Green was prosecuted in a civilian court because he had already been discharged from the US Army when charges were filed.