A two-star general in the U.S. Air Force was found guilty Saturday of sexual assault, marking the first court-martial and conviction of a general officer in the military branch’s 74-year history.
Cooley, whose career with the Air Force began in 1988, was the first general officer in his service’s history to be criminally prosecuted.
Cooley had been drinking at a barbecue on Aug. 12, 2018, when he asked his sister-in-law, who was also at the event, for a ride home. During the car ride, the victim said Cooley talked about his fantasies of having sex with her. She said he also “pressed her up against the driver’s side window, forcibly kissed and groped her through her clothes,” according to the statement.
“Vanessa Guillén’s spirit has been with me on this journey and while this process has been incredibly invasive not only for me but also my immediate family and closest friends, I know there are countless other people who have been silenced forever, like Vanessa, so staying silent was simply never an option,” she said.Guillén’s death, along with the #MeToo movement and pressure from Congress, laid the groundwork for prosecutors to secure a conviction against Cooley, VanLandingham said.
“I’m not happy to see this outcome, because there’s a victim and the Air Force is a victim of his misconduct as well,” VanLandingham said. “But it’s good to see that the system is finally willing to hold a senior officer to account for this kind of behavior.”
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