![U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. William T. Cooley, the now former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, delivers remarks during a 2019 news conference inside the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. [Wesley Farnsworth / U.S. Air Force - DIGITAL]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/801b97a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4732x3261+0+0/resize/840x578!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2022%2F01%2F1071154587_534876954.jpg)
Updated: 9:40 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022
The court-martial of the former head of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that was set to begin Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, has been pushed until April. According to a statement a military judge shifted the date "in part, due to COVID concerns among the trial participants."
Maj. Gen. William Cooley was removed from command Jan. 15, 2020, following allegations of sexual assault.
He could become the first-ever Air Force general officer to have his case adjudicated by court-martial. Maj. Gen. Donald L. Kaufman was arraigned as part of a court-martial in the early 1990s but the case was dismissed and never went to a jury. He was demoted and ended up retiring.
Jury selection in the military trial - a general court-martial - is now set to begin April 18. At least eight jurors will be selected from a pool of military personal of higher ranking. In this case, that means all potential jurors would have to be three- or four-star generals or two-star generals who have served longer.
Similar to a bench trial in civilian courts, Cooley could ask for a military judge alone to hear the case.
As WVXU previously reported, Cooley is charged with abusive sexual contact under Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He is currently serving as the special assistant to the Commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patt.
Cooley allegedly kissed and touched a female victim during an off-duty incident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Aug. 12, 2018. He has denied the accusations.
Lt. Gen. Gene Kirkland, commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, reviewed the evidence and preferred the aforementioned charge with sexual assault specifications. That lead to a hearing similar to a civilian grand jury. A military judge determined the case should go before a general court-martial.
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