Swordsmyth
08-26-2017, 01:56 AM
James J. Grazioplene, 68, a retired major general from Gainesville, Va., is being court-martialed on charges that he raped a child over a six-year period while he was on active duty in the 1980s, according to Army officials and court documents.
It is extremely rare for senior military officers to face court-martial proceedings. The Air Force has never court-martialed a general. The Navy has court-martialed just one admiral since the end of World War II, although two others have been prosecuted recently in federal court (https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/navy-admiral-to-plead-guilty-in-fat-leonard-corruption-scandal/2016/06/09/6955e5ec-2e4e-11e6-9de3-6e6e7a14000c_story.html?utm_term=.bedbc2db4b28) for civilian offenses as part of an epic corruption scandal.
The Army will hold a probable-cause hearing this weekend at Fort Meade, Md., to review evidence against Grazioplene. In April, the service announced in a terse statement that it had charged the retired general with six counts of rape of a minor but disclosed no other details. Army officials have declined to answer questions about the case since then.
Charging documents obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act show that Grazioplene is accused of committing rape on six occasions between 1983 and 1989 while stationed in the United States and Germany.
According to the charging documents, the rapes occurred at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Amberg, Germany; Bindlach, Germany; and Woodbridge, Va.
The identity of the victim was redacted from the records. It is unclear what led the Army to open an investigation into the case three decades later. Under military law, there is no statute of limitations for rape.
Grazioplene entered the Army in 1972 as an armor officer and retired in 2005 after holding a senior post at the Pentagon. His civilian defense attorney, Thomas Pavlinic, said the general would contest the charges. He declined further comment.
Retired officers can be charged with military crimes even after they have left the armed forces, although it is highly unusual.
“It’s almost unheard of,” said Rachel VanLandingham, an associate professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and a former Air Force judge advocate.
More at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-rare-spectacle-army-court-martials-a-retired-general/2017/08/25/473fc440-89ac-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.e2dbe09f27e0
It is extremely rare for senior military officers to face court-martial proceedings. The Air Force has never court-martialed a general. The Navy has court-martialed just one admiral since the end of World War II, although two others have been prosecuted recently in federal court (https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/navy-admiral-to-plead-guilty-in-fat-leonard-corruption-scandal/2016/06/09/6955e5ec-2e4e-11e6-9de3-6e6e7a14000c_story.html?utm_term=.bedbc2db4b28) for civilian offenses as part of an epic corruption scandal.
The Army will hold a probable-cause hearing this weekend at Fort Meade, Md., to review evidence against Grazioplene. In April, the service announced in a terse statement that it had charged the retired general with six counts of rape of a minor but disclosed no other details. Army officials have declined to answer questions about the case since then.
Charging documents obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act show that Grazioplene is accused of committing rape on six occasions between 1983 and 1989 while stationed in the United States and Germany.
According to the charging documents, the rapes occurred at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Amberg, Germany; Bindlach, Germany; and Woodbridge, Va.
The identity of the victim was redacted from the records. It is unclear what led the Army to open an investigation into the case three decades later. Under military law, there is no statute of limitations for rape.
Grazioplene entered the Army in 1972 as an armor officer and retired in 2005 after holding a senior post at the Pentagon. His civilian defense attorney, Thomas Pavlinic, said the general would contest the charges. He declined further comment.
Retired officers can be charged with military crimes even after they have left the armed forces, although it is highly unusual.
“It’s almost unheard of,” said Rachel VanLandingham, an associate professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and a former Air Force judge advocate.
More at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-rare-spectacle-army-court-martials-a-retired-general/2017/08/25/473fc440-89ac-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.e2dbe09f27e0