US airman removed from UK by Americans 'sent sex act video filmed on bus'
A US airman spirited out of Britain allegedly sent a video of himself committing a sex act on a bus. Lt Col Michael Morris, 39, faced a court martial over the footage.
US airman evacuated from UK accused of sending bus sex act video
A senior US airman who was removed from Britain by American authorities sent a video of himself committing a sex act on a bus, a court martial heard, bbc.co.uk reports.
Lt Col Michael Morris, 39, who was stationed at the US embassy in London, was allegedly in uniform in the footage. He is also accused of exchanging dozens of further messages of a sexual nature.
Morris was spirited out of the United Kingdom by US authorities before British police could question him, raising questions about the limits of diplomatic arrangements governing American military personnel on UK soil.
The court martial, convened under US military jurisdiction, heard that the video had been sent by Morris while he was serving in an official capacity in London. The footage, allegedly recorded on a public bus, showed him engaging in a sexual act, prosecutors told the hearing.
No further details of the recipients of the material were disclosed in the proceedings reported by the BBC. The charges against Morris also include the exchange of dozens of explicit messages, the nature and recipients of which were not fully detailed in the initial reporting.
Morris held the rank of lieutenant colonel at the time of the alleged offences, a senior grade within the US Air Force. His assignment to the American embassy in London placed him within a diplomatic environment, though his precise role there was not specified in the court martial proceedings.
The case has drawn attention in the United Kingdom given the circumstances of his departure. British authorities were reportedly unable to question Morris before he was taken out of the country, a development that prompted scrutiny of the arrangements under which US military personnel operate on British territory.
Court martial proceedings are conducted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which grants the US armed forces jurisdiction over their own members regardless of where the alleged offences occurred. Morris faces the charges before a military tribunal rather than a British civilian court.
The BBC did not report a verdict or further procedural outcome at the time of publication. The case remains ongoing.
Source: The Sun