US fighter pilot avoids British trial after raping a woman in England

4 hours ago

Sarah Steele, a British academic, woke up in a bathtub in the apartment of U.S. fighter pilot Capt Jacob Wulfson, who she met on Tinder, and later reported being drugged and sexually assaulted.
The case was tried by a U.S. military court martial at RAF Lakenheath in England, with an all-male jury of air force officers, instead of in the British criminal justice system where it would have been prosecuted as rape.
Wulfson was acquitted of rape and drug-related charges but found guilty of non-consensual strangulation and disobeying orders, receiving a six-month sentence at a corrections facility and dismissal from the air force.
The defense aggressively attacked Steele's credibility, alleging financial motives and drug use, while the prosecution highlighted her injuries and the evidence of strangulation.
The trial raised concerns about jurisdiction and fairness, with critics arguing that British authorities ceded responsibility to the U.S. military, potentially compromising justice for crimes committed off-base by service members.
Steele described the court martial as 'degrading,' feeling she was put on trial, and expressed disappointment in the lenient sentence and the process that focused on her rather than the perpetrator.

Hasty Briefsbeta