Former Air Force Informant Who Made False Rape Charge Loses Appeal

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Keesler Air Force Base enlisted woman in Mississippi who was covertly recruited as a Biloxi-area informant and then pleaded guilty to falsifying rape claims has lost a key appeal.

Capping a knotty chapter in military law enforcement, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the claims of Airman Basic Jane M. Neubauer, while also shedding light on what happened after her April 2013 recruitment by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

"Her primary role was to collect information regarding drug use and distribution by other airmen," the court noted in its decision issued March 10.

Besides highlighting the Air Force's use of enlisted personnel as informants, Neubauer's case illuminates, as well, the military's intense focus on combating sexual assault. Neubauer's false claims sparked a severe reaction in part because officials feared they could undermine their anti-assault campaign.

"What are all the airmen who have heard her claims, her false statements, what are they going to think the next time they receive a report of sexual assault?" an Air Force prosecutor asked at Neubauer's 2015 court-martial.'