VA - Former Army General Accused of Rape By His Own Daughter

A daughter has accused and filed charges against her father, a retired general, of rape, which she said occurred when she was still a child. Now, the former military man is being tried in Virginia on multiple counts of rape and incest related to the years-old allegations by his now estranged daughter.

NEW TODAY: Authorities in Virginia have indicted retired Army general James Grazioplene on rape charges, after the military's 3-year-old case against him was dismissed this year.

Grazioplene lived for a time in Woodbridge while serving in the Pentagon.https://t.co/tkdHTF1xsR pic.twitter.com/ar6ljtGu7Z

— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) December 10, 2018

The former military officer has been identified as Maj. Gen. James Grazioplene. He was arrested on December 7 over the charges. The 69-year-old retired Army general faces multiple counts in Prince William Circuit Court. Authorities said the alleged attacks occurred between Aug. 1, 1987, and May 1, 1988.

He has so far declined all requests for interviews and comments on the controversial case but has maintained that he is innocent from the accusations hurled by his own daughter. He only said that the charges against him are “false and incorrect.”

Jennifer Elmore first reported to the Army in 2015 that her estranged father had sexually abused her when she was a child.
Retired Maj. Gen. James Grazioplene's case was dismissed on a technicality. Now, he's back in court: https://t.co/ju0dTufRCT

— FayettevilleObserver (@fayobserver) December 17, 2018

Jennifer Elmore first reported her accusations against her father of sexual abuse to the Army in 2015. It didn’t matter to Elmore, now 47, the decades that have gone by since the horror of what she went through as a child.

Elmore said that it might have taken her a long time to finally come out, share her story and pursue justice against her own father, but that she’s doing so to set an example to others who also faced similar abuse.

Elmore said: “Sometimes, it’s just easier to shut your mouth. 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?”

In response to Elmore’s allegations, the Army conducted a hearing where she testified in Fort Meade Md. It didn’t go her favor as a military judge said it was too late then to bring the case under the statute of limitations, and then went on to dismiss the case.

There’s renewed hope, however, for Elmore’s pursuit of justice as a grand jury indicted Grazioplene on December 3 on multiple counts of rape and incest. There exists no statute of limitations on rape charges in Virginia.

Elmore has always maintained that at least five other people have corroborated part of her account, including her aunt, her father’s sister. She said Grazioplene admitted to his sister that he had sexually assaulted his own daughter years ago.

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