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Air Force general found guilty, avoids jail time in sexual assault case

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — An Air Force general learned his sentence after being convicted by a military judge of one of three specifications of a charge of abusive sexual contact in the first-ever military trial of an Air Force general.

Maj. Gen. William T. Cooley was found guilty on April 23 of one specification of the charge of abusive sexual contact for forcibly kissing a civilian woman.

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In August 2018, Cooley forcibly kissed the victim in a car after a barbeque in Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to a release from the Air Force Materiel Command. He was accused of one charge, with three specifications related to the incident.

Cooley’s general court-martial began April 18, 2022 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Col. Christina M. Jimenez, senior military judge, found Cooley not guilty of two other specifications of the charge, including alleged inappropriate touching.

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On Tuesday, Cooley, a former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, was sentenced to a reprimand and forfeiture of $10,910 per month for five months.

“If this result influenced just one survivor to know that his or her attacker’s rank or status would not prevent them from being held accountable, that is a win for the United States and the military justice system,” Lt. Col. Matthew Neil, government lead trial counsel, said after the sentence was announced Tuesday.

Cooley faced a maximum punishment of dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for seven years, according to a release.

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