Retired US Army general charged with rape and incest to face trial in Virginia

James J Grazioplene accused of years of abuse by daughter that spanned numerous military assignments and locations

Retired Army general James J Grazioplene was charged with three counts of rape and three counts of incest by a grand jury in December (Washington Post/ US Army)

A retired Army general will face trial in Virginia on charges of rape and incest dating back 30 years ago, according to court documents filed in the case.

James J Grazioplene, a retired two-star officer, was charged by a grand jury in December with three counts of rape and three counts of incest in Prince William General District Court.

A February pretrial hearing has been set, with the trial scheduled to begin on 29 April.

The Army was planning to court-martial Mr Grazioplene, 69, in the spring of 2018, but the charges were dismissed in March after a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in another case effectively limited the statute of limitations in the case to five years.

Legislation passed by Congress in 2006 says rape cases have no statute of limitations under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but cases from before then are subject to the laws at the time of the alleged crime.

Army investigators focused on accusations from 1983 to 1989, while authorities in Virginia, which has no statute of limitation for rape, are focused on a period from 1988 to 1989, when Mr Grazioplene lived in the state.

Mr Grazioplene's case was the subject of a Washington Post story in which the general's daughter, Jennifer M Elmore, 47, detailed years of abuse accusations against him that spanned numerous military assignments and locations.

Five other people, including one of Mr Grazioplene's sisters, corroborated aspects of her story.

Ms Elmore first reported the allegations to the Army in 2015, prompting a lengthy investigation.

“Sometimes, it's just easier to shut your mouth,” she said earlier this year. “But if I stay silent and the next person opts for that, and the next person opts for that, and the next person opts for that, where are we?”

A lawyer for Ms Elmore, Ryan Guilds, declined to comment on the status of the case.

Lawyers for Mr Grazioplene did not respond to a request for comment. He has denied the accusations.

“I will not comment,” Mr Grazioplene said in a phone call on 6 September. “The charges are false and incorrect. Nope.”

Washington Post