This is unheard of in the US Air Force. For the first time in its history, one of its generals was sentenced at the end of April by a court-martial for sexual assault. After a boozy barbecue in Albuquerque in 2018, William Cooley made advances to his sister-in-law in the car, telling her he had fantasized about her for a long time. He had forced her to kiss her by physically constraining her. General Cooley, 56, has pleaded not guilty. He was ordered to pay $54,450 in fines and a reprimand.
“It’s a historic judgment,” said Matthew Neil, the military prosecutor. “This sentence is very important, adds Rachel VanLandingham, former lawyer of the Office of Justice of the Air Force and professor at Southwestern Law School. It clearly shows that the rank is no longer a shield that protects criminal behavior. It also signals that sexual assault will no longer be tolerated.”
It was time ! They have continued to climb for years to reach worrying proportions. In 2020, there were 6,290 complaints, a slight increase compared to 6,236 in 2019. But the incidents are much more numerous because in 2018, for example, 76% of victims preferred to remain silent. According to the anonymous survey that the Pentagon regularly conducts, 20,500 members of the armed forces – 13,000 women and 7,500 men – suffered some form of sexual assault in 2018, 37% more than in 2016. Another study published in a medical journal estimates that nearly 1 in 4 female soldiers in the military have been assaulted and more than 1 in 2 sexually harassed. Women, still in 2018, represented only 16.5% of the troops.
Most of the time, rapists and abusers escape jail and even prosecution. Blame the justice system. The decision to open an investigation and take legal action is left to the discretion of the military command. Of the 6,236 complaints filed in 2019, only 255 resulted in a trial and 156 in a conviction… Even more serious: 38% of female soldiers were subsequently penalized in their careers for having dared to file a complaint, according to the same Pentagon poll.
For decades, elected officials and victims’ organizations have denounced the army’s inaction in the face of this epidemic, which undoubtedly contributes to its recruitment problems. Under pressure from the Biden administration, elected congressmen and young recruits less inclined to keep quiet, the leadership is beginning to move. The murder in 2020 of Vanessa Guillén also marked the spirits a lot. This 20-year-old Texas Army member complained of sexual harassment from a sergeant and some time later was beaten to death with a hammer by another soldier who then dismembered and burned his body.
A “toxic macho” culture
This case revealed the toxic macho culture present in the military base and the indifference of the officers. The sister-in-law of General Cooley has also declared that “the spirit of Vanessa Guillén” had inspired him. “I know there are countless people who have been silenced forever like Vanessa, so keeping quiet was never an option,” she said.
Last December, Congress passed a measure that limits the power of the high command in sexual assault cases. He will no longer have the authority to decide whether or not a soldier accused of rape is liable to court martial. The task will fall to independent military prosecutors. The command, however, continues to have control over the trial, the choice of jurors, the right to grant immunity… Hence the criticism that the law does not go far enough.
General Cooley risked up to seven years in prison, a demotion, the abolition of his very generous pension… In the end, he only received a fine, a reduction in salary over five months and a reprimand that may impact his career and the amount of his retirement. “A court-martial is not going to change everything,” concludes Professor VanLandingham. “But I hope this condemnation will symbolize a change in culture.”