UK police wrongly handed US pilot case to military

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 31 Oct, 15:12 · Archive

Ministry of Defence officials say UK police should not have let the US military investigate an American fighter pilot accused of strangling a British woman.

Ministry of Defence officials have privately accused Cambridgeshire police of breaching a long-established US-UK agreement by handing over the investigation of Captain Jacob Wulfson to US military police, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. Wulfson, an American fighter pilot, was accused of drugging, raping and strangling Sarah Steele in his Cambridge flat whilst off duty.

Cambridgeshire police allowed US military police to quickly take control of the investigation after the US military requested to do so. However, MoD officials said the force should "absolutely" not have handed the case over. Under the existing agreement between UK authorities and the US military, such a transfer should only occur if the offences were committed while Americans were on duty, or if they were committed against another service member or military property. Neither condition was met in this case.

Wulfson was prosecuted in a military tribunal on a US airbase in Suffolk rather than facing the British criminal justice system. He was acquitted of aggravated sexual assault but convicted of strangling Ms Steele. Downing Street said the UK authorities not being involved in the prosecution was "deeply distressing" and "very concerning". The government has since established a high-level inquiry, involving the Ministry of Defence, to examine how and why police forces have been transferring investigations into serious crimes to US military police.

How it is being reported

• UK police should not have let US military prosecute American fighter pilot who strangled a British woman, officials sayCaptain Jacob Wulfson was accused of drugging, raping and strangling a British woman in his apartment in Cambridge while off duty.Daily Mail · 31 Oct, 14:55
• UK police should not have let US force take over airbase trial, MoD documents showAccording to documents obtained by the Guardian, officials accused Cambridgeshire force of breaching US-UK deal by handing over case of woman strangled by US pilot Ministry of Defence officials have privately accused a UK police force of wrongly handing over the investigation of an American fighter pilot who strangled a British woman to the US military, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. Cambridgeshire police allowed the US military police to quickly take control of the investigation into Capt Jacob Wulfson after he had been accused of sexually assaulting Sarah Steele in his…Guardian World · 31 Oct, 13:30

In this story: Captain Jacob Wulfson · Sarah Steele · Cambridgeshire police · Cambridge · Suffolk · Ministry of Defence

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