Maj. Gen. William Cooley was charged with three offenses during the week-long court-martial at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. One alleges a forcible kiss while two allege forcible touching.
Cooley was convicted for the first specification, but acquitted for the second and third. This decision was announced by the Dayton Daily News .
Cooley, a former commander of Air Force Research Laboratory was charged with abusive sexual contacts in an encounter with a woman after a New Mexico backyard barbecue nearly four years ago. Officials say the woman is a civilian and not a Department of Defense employee.
Cooley would be sentenced Monday morning. He could face up to seven years imprisonment, as well as losing rank, pay, and benefits.
According to the newspaper, “Today marks a first time that an Air Force general officers has been held accountable for his heinous acts.” Ryan Guilds, the woman’s lawyer, stated in a statement. “… We hope that this won’t be so difficult for the next survivor.
After an Air Force investigation, Cooley was dismissed from his position as a research laboratory scientist in January 2020. Since then, he has been working in an administrative role. His attorney was contacted Saturday to seek comment.
A year-and-a-half-long investigation by “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and the CBS News Investigative Unit into sexual assault within the U.S. military uncovered failures by leaders to address the issue. Over the course of the investigation, CBS News spoke with nearly two dozen survivors of sexual assault, whistleblowers who worked for the military’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program and families of suicide victims who say the military grossly mishandled reports of sexual assault. Then-Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy called the CBS News’ series of reports “very powerful” and pledged the Army would take steps to tackle sexual assault in its ranks, and that the effort would be “one of the most comprehensive steps in accountability in the Army’s history.”
