An Air Force major general who was convicted in a court-martial for abusive sexual contact against his twin brother’s wife after a family barbecue in Albuquerque will retire this week at a lower rank.
Maj. Gen. William Cooley, a former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, will retire June 1 at the rank of colonel, which is two ranks below his current rank. The Air Force announced the decision following an “officer grade determination” by the Air Force Secretary.
It was an historic proceeding — as the case marked the first time in Air Force history that a major general faced a court-martial.
The case stemmed from a family barbecue in Albuquerque in August 2018.
An Albuquerque native who graduated from Highland High School and earned a master’s degree at the University of New Mexico, Cooley was in town ahead of a work conference at Kirtland Air Force Base, which is home to two AFRL directorates. Cooley was assigned to KAFB twice during his Air Force career, according to the branch’s website.
After drinking bourbon and sangria during the barbecue, Cooley got a ride from his sister-in-law to another home to pick up his belongings, according to Air Force documents and testimony of the proceedings.
During the ride, he told his brother’s wife that he had sexually fantasized about her for years, according to testimony reported by several media outlets. He was convicted of forcibly kissing her in her Jeep.
Col. Christina M. Jimenez presided over a week-long proceeding at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in April 22.
She found Cooley guilty of a “specification alleging abusive sexual contact under the (Uniformed Code of Military Justice;) specifically, kissing the victim without her consent with an intent to gratify his sexual desire,” according to the Air Force. Jimenez found him not guilty of the two other specifications, which involved allegations of inappropriate touching.
Cooley was reprimanded and forfeited about two-thirds of his salary for five months, according to the Associated Press.
“The Department of the Air Force expects its leaders to embody our Core Values, and holds them accountable if they fall short of expectations,” Derek Kaufman, a spokesman for the Air Force, said in a news release.
Joshua Kastenberg, a University of New Mexico law professor and former military judge and prosecutor, said the change in Cooley’s rank will likely cost him about $1,000 a month in benefits. The Air Force Secretary essentially had to determine when was the last rank that Cooley served honorably, Kastenberg said.
“He doesn’t get to keep the parking space he would have gotten if he retired as a major general,” he said.
But more important than the rank in which Cooley will retire, Kastenberg said, is that the case symbolizes efforts by the military to hold its highest-ranking officers accountable.
“The Air Force actually took a step in holding a flag officer accountable in the military justice system,” Kastenberg said. Commanding “officers can’t get away with not charging (the highest ranking officers). That’s critical, because it builds confidence in the system.”
Cooley’s attorney couldn’t be reaching for comment on Tuesday.
During Cooley’s sentencing hearing, his brother’s wife read a three-page statement says that the assault left her humiliated, cost her valuable relationships with family members and continues to impact her.
“I’ve had to share the details of that horrific night more times than I can count with not only friends and other family members but with complete strangers and now the world,” she said. “He stole my agency. My ability to tell my story to who I wanted, when I wanted.”
The woman and her husband reported the incident to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in December 2019. She said she ultimately decided to report the incident, in part, to set an example for her daughters.
“I felt like a fraud to my amazing daughters,” she said. “What was I role modeling if I didn’t speak up for myself?”
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