Air Force general’s sister-in-law describes alleged sexual assault in Day 2 of court-martial - Yahoo News

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Maj. Gen. Bill Cooley’s sister-in-law, who has accused the two-star general of sexually assaulting her in 2018, took the stand on the second day of his military trial here Tuesday.

The plaintiff testified that the alleged incident at her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, nearly four years ago was a frightening “out-of-body” experience that has fractured her personal life.

“I was a little shocked at that moment,” she said. “He had never done anything like this before.”

She agreed to be publicly identified by her relationship to Cooley, but not by name, for the first time Tuesday. Air Force Times does not publish the names of alleged sexual assault victims without their permission in order to protect their privacy.

Prosecutors in the Air Force’s first court-martial of a general officer painted Cooley as an egotist who, when rejected by a woman he had long coveted, now downplays an attempt to molest her.

The two-star general’s defense team argues the pair shared a consensual kiss that his sister-in-law has blown out of proportion, and portrayed her as an unreliable narrator.

Cooley commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, at the time; his sister-in-law is a civilian.

“I thought Bill and I were finally friends” after an “almost nonexistent” relationship over their three-decade connection, the plaintiff testified at the bench trial. Cooley had become kinder and more thoughtful, complimenting her home and career when they saw each other on occasion.

He also grew more physically affectionate, she said, going from brief hugs to full embraces. Certain interactions unnerved her: Cooley sometimes kissed the top of her head and smelled her hair during a hug, which made her so uncomfortable that she brought it up to her husband.

Cooley purportedly kissed and fondled the woman without her consent in August 2018 after a barbecue at her home. He was in the Albuquerque area for work at Kirtland Air Force Base and arrived early to spend the weekend with family and friends.

She compared her shock to when Juliet (Kiera Knightley) realizes that her husband’s best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln) is in love with her.

source: https://news.yahoo.com/air-force-general-sister-law-225507726.html

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