US airman accused of serial rapes in UK avoided British courts after case was handed to US military

A US Air Force airman accused of sexually assaulting six women in England avoided British prosecution after local police transferred key investigations to American military authorities.

WEBDESK – MEDIABITES

A US Air Force airman accused of carrying out a series of rapes and sexual assaults against women in England avoided prosecution in British courts after local police transferred part of the investigation to the US military, according to a report that has renewed scrutiny of jurisdiction over crimes involving American personnel stationed in the UK.

The report says James Loubeau, 38, was accused of attacking six women across East Anglia during a four-month period in 2019. The alleged victims included three British women and three American servicewomen stationed at RAF Mildenhall, a US military base in Suffolk.

According to court documents, two British women reported to Suffolk Police in August 2019 that Loubeau and another US airman had drugged and raped them after they met at a nightclub in Bury St Edmunds. However, just 11 days after the complaint was filed, Suffolk Police transferred responsibility for investigating the alleged rapes to the US Air Force.

The military investigation later resulted in a court-martial focused on allegations involving an American servicewoman who accused Loubeau of sexually assaulting her while she was “in and out of consciousness.” The military tribunal acquitted him in 2020. Despite the acquittal, he was dismissed from the US Air Force the same year over a series of disciplinary violations, including making unwanted sexual advances toward intoxicated women and stealing jewelry from a military store.

The case took a dramatic turn in 2025 when the FBI reopened an investigation into another alleged assault. DNA evidence linked Loubeau to the attack on a 19-year-old American servicewoman stationed at RAF Mildenhall. A federal court in Miami convicted him of sexual assault in 2025, sentencing him to five years in prison and ordering 20 years of supervised release after prison due to the risk he poses to the public.

US prosecutors argued that Loubeau had carried out an “assaultive spree” in England and believed he could attack women “with impunity.” They cited allegations from multiple women to establish what they described as a disturbing pattern of targeting women who were asleep, unconscious, or intoxicated.

The revelations have intensified pressure on Suffolk Police to explain why it relinquished jurisdiction over allegations involving British victims. The force has said it is reviewing the decision-making process for transferring the case to US military authorities and examining its broader practices regarding such transfers.

The case is one of several recent incidents involving US military personnel in Britain that have raised questions about whether serious crimes committed on British soil should be tried in UK courts rather than under the American military justice system.