Keiran Lee Bogstad, 22, a U.S. airman, is facing rape charges in a British court. Authorities say he raped a U.K. citizen three times at RAF Croughton in Northampton, England. (Facebook/RAF Croughton)
A U.S. airman who is accused of raping a British citizen three times at RAF Croughton is out on bail after pleading not guilty in a U.K. court, according to media reports.
Keiran Lee Bogstad, 22, entered the plea Thursday in Northampton Crown Court, the BBC and other news outlets said.
Bogstad is a senior airman stationed at Croughton, the 501st Combat Support Wing told Stars and Stripes on Friday but declined to say what his Air Force job is.
“All necessary details have been provided. Any additional information will be released following the proceedings,” a wing statement said.
The judge granted Bogstad conditional bail and set a trial date for September 2024. He is barred from contacting the alleged victim and is also not allowed to leave the country, according to a report in The Independent.
Northamptonshire police said the Air Force had fully cooperated with their investigation, the newspaper reported.
Prosecutors say the rapes occurred between November 2020 and February 2021, according to news reports. In court Thursday, Bogstad spoke only to confirm his identity and enter his plea, they said.
The NATO Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the relationship between allied host countries and the U.S. military forces stationed there, allows for local prosecution of service members accused of violating the host-nation’s laws.
In Bogstad’s case, the British citizenship of the accuser may have driven U.K. authorities to pursue prosecution in domestic courts, said Andrew D. Cherkasky, a New York defense attorney and former Air Force JAG lawyer who has extensive experience with military justice abroad.
“The host nation often takes cases where there is a specific public interest,” Cherkasky said.
The military is allowed to try service members after prosecution by the host country.
“It would not be double jeopardy for this airman to be tried by the U.K. and the military because they are separate sovereigns,” Cherkasky said.
Another attorney whose firm represents military defendants, Robert F. Capovilla, said the Air Force “has an array of options to consider” besides bringing charges. The options include expulsion from the service.
“That separation process may already be happening,” Capovilla said. “There’s no requirement that they must wait until the case is resolved in the U.K.’s legal system.”
Stars and Stripes reporter Kyle Alvarez contributed to this story.
