Police wrongly let US military try F-35 pilot, officials say

Ministry of Defence officials believed Cambridgeshire police wrongly let the US military prosecute an American F-35 pilot over the strangling of a British woman, documents show, and the government has since set up an inquiry.

Captain Jacob Wulfson, 29, was cleared of aggravated sexual assault but convicted of strangling Sarah Steele, who has waived her right to anonymity, and of wilfully disobeying a commander's order not to contact her.

A decorated aviator, Wulfson flew advanced F-35 fighter jets and was known by the call sign 'Lone'. The court martial at RAF Lakenheath sentenced him to six months in the base's military correction facility, where inmates take on work around the base.

The maximum sentence available was 13 years. 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.

Documents seen by The Guardian show that MoD officials in Washington wrote on 8 July that the case 'does not, on the surface, appear to meet the bar for a visiting force [the US military] to be awarded jurisdiction'.

Days earlier, other MoD officials had judged that 'The decision-making on this specific case seemed at odds with what is very clear' in the agreement. A third official said 'this should absolutely have been for the UK courts'.

A Greater Manchester Police officer emailed the MoD on 6 July to say Cambridgeshire police had 'wrongly, in my view' handed the investigation to the US military.

The agreement between UK authorities and the US military allows such a handover only if the offences were committed while the Americans were on duty, or against another member of their armed forces or property. The circumstances are described as 'pretty unambiguous' and 'narrow'.

Wulfson was off duty, and at his apartment in Cambridge, when the incident Ms Steele reported took place. Cambridgeshire Constabulary passed responsibility for the investigation to the US military after it asked to take the lead.

The court martial heard that the pair began messaging on dating app Tinder in September 2023 and met on 1 December after exchanging sexually charged messages. Ms Steele, then 39, sent 'ground rules' beforehand that included 'no means no', 'no hands on my neck' and 'condoms please'.

They drank whisky and moved to the airman's bedroom, where, she said, 'things sped up really quite fast.' She told the hearing that Wulfson penetrated her without a condom but that she 'couldn't speak' because 'his hand was on my neck'.

The court heard that she later woke naked in a bath of cold water, and that Wulfson drove her home after she spent the afternoon drifting in and out of sleep. An A&E doctor noted bruising on her face and body.

She then attended a sexual assault referral centre, where a urine sample and photographs were taken. The images and the forensic examination, which included DNA evidence, were not admissible under the US law applied at the hearing.

Wulfson's defence lawyer argued that her injuries came from her 'freaking out' because of a previous assault and from headbutting the pilot. Ms Steele was reduced to tears during the hearing.

Prosecutors said etizolam, a powerful central nervous system depressant banned in the UK and sometimes called 'street Valium', had somehow entered her system. Wulfson was cleared of that allegation.

Under US military law he faced a charge of 'aggravated sexual assault' rather than rape. A panel of eight air force officers, all men stationed at the same base, heard the case.

Ms Steele has described the proceedings as 'degrading' and 'aggressive', a process that 'became a character assassination'. Accounts of the hearing claim she was portrayed as sex-obsessed and financially motivated.

Justice Minister Jake Richards told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there would be a 'really thorough and objective look at this case'. He called it 'a really serious case' and promised to 'take it back to the Ministry of Justice and make sure that we are looking into the details of this'.

Other cases have emerged since Ms Steele's account came to light, involving US personnel prosecuted for alleged off-duty offences. Tyrion Davis, accused of raping two women in Suffolk, was convicted by fellow airmen of one charge of sexual assault and cleared of 10 further charges of sexual assault and abusive sexual contact.

Military prosecutions do not take place in public and do not typically give victims the same protections or support as a UK court.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary has been contacted for comment, and the government inquiry into the case continues.