A US airman accused of a series of rapes and sexual assaults in England, including drugging women and breaking into their homes, avoided British justice after local police handed over the investigation to the American military. James Loubeau, 38, was eventually convicted in a Miami court in July 2023 and sentenced to five years in prison, with 20 years of supervision after release.
Allegations and initial investigation
Two British women reported to Suffolk police in August 2019 that Loubeau and another US airman had drugged and raped them after meeting at a nightclub in Bury St Edmunds. Within 11 days, Suffolk police transferred responsibility for the investigation to the US Air Force. Loubeau allegedly attacked six women in East Anglia between April and July 2019, a pattern US prosecutors described as “frightening and dangerous.”
Jurisdictional issues
Under a 1951 US-UK agreement, the US military can claim jurisdiction when the victim is a US service member or the crime occurs while on duty. However, three of Loubeau’s alleged victims were British and attacked while he was off-duty, meaning Suffolk police should have retained primary responsibility. Court papers indicate the two British women were given wine and Disaronno liqueur at Loubeau’s base bedroom, then woke up naked and confused, believing they had been raped.
Military court martial and acquittal
The US military’s investigation covered at least five women, including three American servicewomen. A court martial in 2020 on RAF Mildenhall acquitted Loubeau of charges related to one American servicewoman who said he sexually assaulted her after breaking into her bedroom. He was dismissed from the Air Force under honorable conditions for minor infractions, including sexual advances toward drunk women and theft.
FBI investigation and conviction
After Loubeau returned to the US in 2021, the FBI opened an investigation and linked him via DNA to a 19-year-old American servicewoman he assaulted in May 2019. He entered her locked bedroom by slipping his hand through a window. Prosecutors used a US law allowing prosecution of military personnel for crimes abroad, securing a conviction for sexual assault. The judge ordered 20 years of supervision due to the risk of reoffending.
Broader implications
Suffolk police are reviewing their decision to cede jurisdiction, prompted by Guardian investigations into other cases where US personnel avoided UK courts, including a fighter pilot who strangled a British woman and an airman who sexually assaulted a woman in Suffolk. The US Air Force police declined to comment on jurisdiction decisions, referring questions to Suffolk police, who also declined to explain their actions.
