Two British women who alleged they were raped by a US airman have spoken out about their traumatic experience of giving evidence in an American military court martial, where the defendant was convicted of sexual assault but received a sentence they describe as a "slap on the wrist."
Tyrion Davis, a former senior airman at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and dishonourably discharged from the US air force after being convicted of sexually assaulting his estranged wife, Emily, by penetrating her vulva with his penis without her consent. He was acquitted of 10 further counts of sexual assault and abusive sexual contact, and two counts of assault, against Emily and another British woman, Rebecca.
Rebecca's Allegations and the Decision to Transfer Jurisdiction
Rebecca, then a 20-year-old midwifery student, alleged that Davis raped her in June 2020 at his home in Brandon, Suffolk. She reported the attack to Suffolk police, who initially investigated. However, 20 days later, the force decided to cede control of the case to the US air force, meaning Davis would avoid the British justice system and a possible trial before a jury in a crown court.
Rebecca said she was told by her independent sexual violence adviser (ISVA) that the US military route would be quicker, with a court martial expected within six months. She agreed to the transfer, but the promised timetable stretched to two years, forcing her to drop out of her midwifery degree. Unlike victims in UK courts, she could not testify from behind a screen and had to give evidence in a small courtroom at the military base, with Davis present. She was also advised not to wear red lipstick or red clothing, but to wear white as it was "more angelic."
Emily's Allegations and the Court Martial
Emily reported her allegations to the US air force's office of special investigations in September 2020, after Rebecca contacted her. She accused Davis of sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions in 2018 and 2019. One incident in July 2019, which led to the conviction, involved Davis penetrating her after she said no multiple times. Facebook messages disclosed during the trial showed Davis admitted he knew she said stop, but claimed she "didn't say it like you meant it."
Emily, who was five months pregnant during the trial, described the cross-examination as intense and invasive. Davis's lawyers argued she had fabricated the allegations to cover up an affair, but Emily maintained that the affair did not justify the assault.
Sentencing and Impact
Davis could have faced up to 30 years in prison under the military system, but the panel of officers and airmen who served as the jury sentenced him to 10 months. Emily called the sentence "a slap on the wrist." Rebecca said the experience left her mental health "on the floor," but she found some relief in the conviction.
The case echoes that of Capt Jacob Wulfson, also based at RAF Lakenheath, who avoided British justice after strangling a woman in Cambridge. The Guardian's investigation has raised questions about the fairness of the US court martial system. Suffolk police said jurisdiction was transferred with the victim's agreement, but Norfolk police, which employed the ISVA, said they would reflect on the case to ensure victims are fully informed in the future.
