A former U.S. Air Force member has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a fellow service member while stationed overseas at Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom.
James Loubeau, 37, of Miami, pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of abusive sexual contact related to a 2019 assault on base. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The assault occurred on May 4, 2019, after Loubeau and the victim had been drinking together at a bar on the base. The victim, who was visibly intoxicated, returned to her on-base housing with the help of a friend and went to bed alone. According to investigators, she awoke around 2:30 a.m. to find Loubeau on top of her in bed.
She immediately called two friends and reported that she had been raped. Surveillance footage later confirmed Loubeau leaving her room and returning to his dorm. A medical exam revealed injuries consistent with sexual contact, and DNA evidence linked Loubeau to the assault.
Loubeau was discharged from the Air Force in March 2020. Although no longer under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he was prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), which allows the U.S. to prosecute former military members for certain crimes committed overseas while they were serving.
Loubeau was originally indicted in April 2025 and had been held in a Broward County jail prior to being transferred into federal custody. His prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.
The investigation was led by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
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