A retired Army major general will go to court-martial on charges that he allegedly raped a minor on multiple occasions over a period of at least six years.

The Army announced Wednesday that it had referred the charges against retired Maj. Gen. James Grazioplene.

Grazioplene faced his accuser’s testimony in a seven-hour Article 32 hearing at Fort Meade, Maryland, on Aug. 26.

The retired two-star faces a maximum punishment of dismissal from the service, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for life, according to an Army release.

As a retiree, Grazioplene, 68, is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He is to remain in retired status at this time, officials said.

The U.S. Army Trial Judiciary will assign a military judge to the case, and the judge will set a date for Grazioplene’s arraignment, trial and any other necessary hearings, the Army said.

The alleged victim testified that Grazioplene molested and raped her repeatedly since the 1970s and continuing until 1989.

Army Times does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

RELATED

In 1986, a three-year statute of limitations on rape charges was removed from the Uniform Code of Military Justice. There is now no statute of limitations on rape in the military. However, some of the charges against Grazioplene are for incidents that allegedly took place before 1986.

Military prosecutors allege that the rapes took place at or near his duty stations, which included Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Bindlach and Amberg, Germany; Woodbridge, Virginia; and Fort Bragg, North Carolina

The alleged victim, now a 46-year-old woman, testified that the assaults began when she was three and continued until she was 18 years old.

During the Article 32 hearing, Grazioplene’s defense attorneys told the hearing officer, Col. Lanny Acosta Jr., that the alleged victim has filled in memories of false claims of rape. They also argued that inconsistent statements she has made over the years to authorities were evidence of her being influenced by more than a decade of abuse therapy.

The woman testified that over the years she had revealed the abuse to a handful of confidants — a school friend, college roommate, boyfriend, husband and some relatives at various points.

She also testified that she revealed different portions of what had happened to her in diverse ways to people, depending on her level of trust with them.

Grazioplene served in the Army from 1972, shortly after graduating West Point, until he retired in 2005. He resides in Gainesville, Virginia.

Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.

Share:
In Other News
Load More