US Airman Avoided UK Courts for Sexual Assaults

A United States airman, James Loubeau, accused of a series of rapes and sexual assaults against six women in England in 2019, avoided prosecution in UK courts after Suffolk police transferred part of the investigation to the US military. Loubeau was subsequently acquitted in a US military court martial in 2020, but later convicted of sexual assault in a US court in 2025 and sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Allegations and Police Action

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The alleged assaults occurred over a four-month period in 2019, primarily at or near RAF Mildenhall, a US military base in Suffolk. Two British women reported to Suffolk police in August 2019 that they had been drugged and raped by Loubeau and another US airman after meeting them in a nightclub. Less than two weeks later, Suffolk police allowed the US air force to take over the investigation into these two alleged incidents.

US prosecutors described Loubeau's alleged actions as a "frightening and dangerous" pattern of assaults. The total number of alleged victims reached six women, including three female US military personnel stationed at RAF Mildenhall. Under a 1951 agreement between the US and UK, the US military can claim jurisdiction for investigating crimes when the victim is a member of the US armed forces or when the alleged crime occurs while a service member is on duty.

Military Trial and Discharge

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Loubeau's case proceeded to a military trial, or court martial, in 2020, focusing on allegations from one of the six women, an American servicewoman. She claimed Loubeau had sexually assaulted her in her bedroom on the base. The court martial, held on the base, resulted in Loubeau's acquittal. Following this, Loubeau was dismissed from the US air force in 2020 for a series of minor infractions, including making sexual advances to intoxicated women and theft.

US Conviction and Sentencing

After returning to the US in 2021, Loubeau was investigated by the FBI. In 2025, he was convicted in a Miami court of sexual assault related to one of the six women, a 19-year-old American serving with him at Mildenhall. Prosecutors presented evidence of the other alleged attacks in England to argue Loubeau posed a risk of future offending. He received a five-year prison sentence and will be subject to supervised release for two decades after his release.

The Guardian reported that Suffolk police declined to explain their decision to cede jurisdiction in the case. Cambridgeshire police also stated they had not transferred responsibility for an allegation from a third British woman to the US military, though they had provided assistance as part of their investigation.