A UK justice minister has described the case of a British woman strangled by an American fighter pilot as \u201creally serious\u201d and said the Ministry of Justice would examine it.<\/p>\n
Sarah Steele, an academic, has come forward to speak about the \u201cdistressing and degrading\u201d experience<\/a> she had with the US military justice system after she was assaulted by the airman in Cambridge.<\/p>\n Jacob Wulfson assaulted Steele on UK soil in late 2023 after the pair met on a dating app and American military police quickly took over the case and the pilot was tried by US air force prosecutors.<\/p>\n Sarah Steele, a British academic, has waived her anonymity to speak about her experience. Photograph: Antonio Olmos\/The Guardian<\/p>\n UK law enforcement has primary jurisdiction over crimes that occur outside US bases while military personnel are off duty. Steele\u2019s case has put a spotlight on how UK authorities cede authority<\/a> to the US military.<\/p>\n The justice minister Jake Richards told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme he would not comment on the specifics of the case but described it as \u201cserious\u201d.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWell, I\u2019m only just getting the details of this case. I saw reporting in the Guardian, and indeed I know that you have covered this at 6.50am and I will be, as you\u2019ve encouraged your listeners to, listening back after I have finished this interview.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really serious case, really. It\u2019s very good that it\u2019s being raised by yourselves and others. I\u2019m going to take it away back to the Ministry of Justice and make sure that we are looking into the details of this later.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThere are issues around military courts, whether that is in America or indeed our own, and how that interplays with our criminal courts and our civil courts. That\u2019s always an area that we look at. I will take this specific case, and you\u2019ll appreciate that I don\u2019t want to say anything that might undermine what needs to be a really thorough and objective look at this case over the coming days and weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n