US airman James Loubeau allegedly attacked six women in the UK, but avoided British justice after Suffolk police handed the case to the US military. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
In August 2019, two British women went to Suffolk police alleging that James Loubeau and another US airman had drugged and raped them after meeting in a nightclub in Bury St Edmunds. Less than two weeks later, Suffolk police allowed the US Air Force to take responsibility for investigating the two alleged rapes.
Loubeau, 38, allegedly attacked a total of six women in East Anglia over a four-month period in 2019, in what US prosecutors described as a "frightening and dangerous" pattern. In July 2025, a court in Miami, Florida, convicted Loubeau of sexually assaulting one of the women on a military base in England. He received a five-year prison sentence and will be monitored for two decades after release.
Three of Loubeau's alleged victims were female military personnel stationed at RAF Mildenhall. Under a 1951 agreement, the US military can claim responsibility for investigating crimes when the victim is a US service member. Three British victims accused Loubeau of attacking them while off-duty. They were driven to the Mildenhall base after a nightclub, given wine and liqueur, and woke up naked and confused the next morning.
Suffolk police opened an investigation on 3 August 2019 but transferred responsibility to US military police 11 days later. The military investigation covered five of Loubeau's six alleged victims. In 2020, a court martial acquitted Loubeau, but he was discharged from the US Air Force for "minor infractions". He returned to the US in 2021.
In 2025, after an FBI investigation, Loubeau was convicted of raping a 19-year-old American woman. The FBI connected DNA evidence. Loubeau entered her room by reaching through a window. She woke at 2:30am to find Loubeau on top of her. He was sentenced to five years in prison.