Police in the UK should not have let the US military prosecute an American fighter pilot who strangled a British woman, officials have said.
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officials → let → woman
Captain Jacob Wulfson was accused of drugging, raping and strangling a British woman in his apartment in Cambridge while off duty.
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Wulfson → accuse → duty
Sarah Steele, who has waived her right to anonymity, made the accusations to Cambridgeshire Constabulary, but the force then passed responsibility for the investigation to the US military after it requested to take the lead.
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it → waive → lead
Instead of facing the British criminal justice process, Captain Wulfson was tried before an all-male jury at a military tribunal, where he was acquitted of a charge of aggravated sexual assault but convicted of strangling Ms Steele.
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he → face → Steele
Now documents have shown officials accused police of wrongly passing the investigation to US authorities, outside the terms of an existing agreement with its military.
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officials → show → military
Officers allowed military police to take control, despite the case not meeting the conditions of the 'pretty unambiguous' and 'narrow' circumstances in which this should occur.
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this → allow → which
An agreement between UK authorities and the US military states that this should only happen if the offences were committed while the Americans were on duty, or if they were committed against another member of their armed forces or property.
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they → state → forces
The government has since set up an inquiry into the case.
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government → set → case
Captain Jacob Wulfson was allowed to face serious charges including the alleged sex offence at a court martial at the US base where he serves, RAF Lakenheath, instead of a British criminal court
RAF Lakenheath in west Suffolk has more than 6,000 personnel plus family members, boasts a shopping mall, drive-thru Taco Bell and uses dollars as currency
Documents seen by The Guardian show that on July 8, MoD officials in Washington wrote that the case 'does not, on the surface, appear to meet the bar for a visiting force [the US military] to be awarded jurisdiction'.
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force → allow → jurisdiction
Just days previously, different MoD officials had said: 'The decision-making on this specific case seemed at odds with what is very clear' in the agreement.
And a third said that 'this should absolutely have been for the UK courts'.
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this → say → courts
Separately, a police officer with Greater Manchester Police emailed the MoD on July 6, and said Cambridgeshire police had 'wrongly, in my view' handed the investigation to the US military.
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police → email → military
Prosecutions by the military do not take place in public and do not typically afford victims the same protections or support as a court in the UK.
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Prosecutions → take → UK
Ms Steele previously told how the court martial at RAF Lakenheath – where decorated aviator Wulfson flew advanced F-35 fighters jets and was known by his call sign 'Lone' – was a 'degrading' and 'aggressive'process which 'became a character assassination'.
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which → tell → sign
Wulfson faced a charge of 'aggravated sexual assault' rather than rape under US military law and his case was heard by a panel of eight air force officers, all men who were stationed at the same base.
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who → face → base
He was found not guilty of the charge following the combative hearing where it is claimed Ms Steele was depicted as sex-obsessed and financially motivated.
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Steele → find → hearing
Acadmic Sarah Steele claimed she was drugged and strangled by Wulfson before he had sex with her without consent in his apartment
Wulfson was convicted of two charges – strangling Ms Steele and wilfully disobeying a commander's orders not to contact his victim after the assault.
Justice Minister Jake Richards told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there would be a 'really thorough and objective look at this case' in the aftermath of the tribunal.
He added: 'It's a really serious case…
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It → claim → tribunal
I'm going to take it back to the Ministry of Justice and make sure that we are looking into the details of this.'
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we → go → this
The court martial heard that the pair began talking to each other through dating app Tinder in September 2023 and met for the first time on December 1, after they had exchanged sexually charged messages.
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they → hear → messages
Before arriving at Wulfson's flat, Ms Steele, then 39, messaged 'ground rules' that included 'no means no… no hands on my neck… condoms please'.
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that → arrive → neck
They drank some whisky and moved to the airman's bedroom where the academic said 'things sped up really quite fast.'
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things → drink → bedroom
The prosecution said etizolam, a powerful central nervous system depressant banned in the UK and sometimes called 'street Valium', had somehow entered Ms Steele's system, although the defendant was cleared of the allegation.
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defendant → say → allegation
She said Wulfson, who was 29, penetrated her without a condom but she 'couldn't speak' because 'his hand was on my neck'.
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hand → say → neck
The court martial heard she later woke up, naked, in a bath of cold water and he drove her home after she spent the afternoon drifting in and out of sleep.
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she → hear → sleep
An A&E doctor later noted bruising on her face and body and she went to a sexual assault referral centre where a urine sample and photos were taken.
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sample → note → centre
However, the images and forensic examination, which included DNA evidence, was not admissible as evidence under US law applied to the hearing.
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which → include → hearing
Wulfson's defence lawyer also claimed injuries to Ms Steele – who was reduced to tears during the hearing – were caused by her 'freaking out' because of a previous assault and headbutting the pilot.
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her → claim → pilot
The pilot was sentenced to six months detention at RAF Lakenheath's military correction facility, where inmates take on work around the base.
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inmates → sentence → base
Wulfson was also formally reprimanded and dismissed from the air force, leaving him with a permanent record as a convicted felon and with implications for veteran benefits.
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Wulfson → reprimand → benefits
He will be free to fly home to the US in September.
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He → fly → September
Since Ms Steele's case came to light, other instances of US military personnel being similarly prosecuted for alleged offences off-duty have also emerged.
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instances → come → duty
Most notable is Tyrion Davis, who was accused of raping two women in Suffolk.
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who → accuse → Suffolk
He was ultimately convicted by his fellow airmen of a single charge of sexual assault and cleared of ten further charges of sexual assault and abusive sexual contact.
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He → convict → assault
Cambridgeshire Constabulary has been contacted for comment.
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Constabulary → contact → comment
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