A British academic, Sarah Steele, woke up drugged and naked in a US fighter pilot's bathtub in England. Her subsequent allegations of drugging, strangulation, and sexual assault against Capt Jacob Wulfson were controversially tried under US military law at an American airbase, sparking concerns over jurisdiction and military justice.
Sarah Steele, a British academic, recounted waking up naked and confused in a bathtub in the apartment of US fighter pilot Capt Jacob Wulfson after their first in-person meeting. She alleged Wulfson drugged, strangled, and sexually assaulted her. Despite the alleged crime occurring off-duty in an English city, the case was tried at a US military court martial at RAF Lakenheath, following US military law, and the offense was not charged as rape but as sexual assault and 'aggravated sexual contact.' The trial featured an all-male panel of US air force officers, some from Wulfson's base, and a defense strategy that aggressively attacked Steele's credibility, portraying her as a 'liar' motivated by money and drug abuse. Wulfson, a decorated F-35 pilot, did not testify. The panel found him guilty of strangulation and disobeying orders but acquitted him of penetrating Steele without consent and drugging her. The jury, rather than a judge, then sentenced Wulfson to six months confinement and dismissal from the air force, a significantly lighter sentence than the prosecution's request of five years for strangulation. Steele described the court martial as a 'degrading' process that put her on trial. The case highlights concerns about UK authorities ceding jurisdiction to the US military justice system for crimes committed by US service members off-base in the UK, and the perceived lack of fairness and transparency in such proceedings, emphasizing the profound impact on the victim.
