The Ministry of Justice is set to review the case of an American serviceman based at RAF Lakenheath who was tried by a military tribunal instead of a British court after being accused of assaulting a woman.
A court martial held on the Suffolk air base found stealth jet pilot Jacob Wulfson guilty of strangling Sarah Steele, who he met on an online dating app at his flat in Cambridge on December 2, 2023.
An eight-strong jury of fellow officers acquitted him of a further charge of rape after a six-day trial, before sentencing him to six months' detainment in a correction facility at Lakenheath.
The Guardian reports proceedings were presided over by a colonel in the US Air Force and Wulfson was allowed to choose his comrades in arms, who had no legal training to decide his punishment after the six-day hearing, which took place in April.
Had the trial been held in a British court, it would have been heard before a jury of ordinary men and women.
If convicted, Wulfson would have been sentenced by a judge who would have been able to impose a sentence for up to five years for the equivalent offence of non-fatal strangulation.
The case would also have been held in an open public court, where it would almost certainly have been reported on.
Dr Steele, a 42-year-old Cambridge-based academic, faced questions over her private life and described the experience as "degrading".
Wulfson's defence suggested she was attention-seeking and "certainly not some victim in the bedroom".
His attorney said her injuries were self-inflicted and she was a drug abuser who had fabricated the assault in the hope of receiving compensation.
"The aggressiveness of it was incredible distressing," said Dr Steele. "I know barristers defend their clients but the difference here is the adversarialism is next-level when you add the military , you're on a base, there are weapons.
"People are attacking you with assertions that are trying to undermine, say that you’re lying, say that you’re a problem, say that you’re all manner of evil things and that you’re creating this, and you’ve got to wade through that staring in the face of the accused.
"His mitigation was things like his kills in action."
Wulfson, who served in Afghanistan, exercised his right under the US Constitution not to testify in court.
Dr Steele passed out after the couple undressed in Wulfson's flat and came to in a bath the following morning feeling ill.
Traces of a banned sedative known as a date rape drug were later found in her system.
Wulfson drove her to her home they day after the assault, where she went to bed in pain. She later attended A&E at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where a doctor noted she had visible injuries including bruising on her face and body.
She later attended a sexual assault clinic, where she had a discussion with a police officer about the attack.
A friend then took her to see the US military police, who later arrested Wulfson.
A spokesperson for the federal law enforcement agency told the Guardian it had “negotiated jurisdiction” with Cambridgeshire police and agreed the US “would take the lead”.
Dr Steele said she was later advised not to press for the British police to investigate and refer the case to Crown Prosecution Service, because this would mean the US authorities dropping their charges which meant Wulfson could be "taken out of the country" during any delay.
Speaking of Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, the justice minister Jake Richards described the case as "serious".
"There are issues around military courts, whether that is in America or indeed our own, and how that interplays with our criminal courts and our civil courts," he said.
"That’s always an area that we look at. I will take this specific case, and you’ll appreciate that I don’t want to say anything that might undermine what needs to be a really thorough and objective look at this case over the coming days and weeks."
Dr Steele said: "I think it’s really important that for the interests of justice and for the rights of victims, that we have clear framework discussion around this."
There are a dozen active US air force bases across the UK, including RAF Mildenhall close to Lakenheath.
The US military justice system has its own legal system, which is separate from the British civilian courts.
Wulfson, who is due to be freed in September, has been dismissed from the US Air Force.
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