Married army general is first in UK military history to be charged with sex crime

A British general has become the first high-ranking military official in history to be charged with a sex crime.

Major General James Roddis, who is married with three children, will stand trial in a military court later this month for sexual assault, The Sun reports.

It’s only the second time in 200 years an official of his rank has faced trial. 

Roddis is understood to have been charged under Section 3 of the Sexual Offences act, which covers offences including ‘sexual assault by touching.’

The Army has reportedly confirmed that Roddis is no longer serving in the military, but that his trial will nevertheless take place at Bulford Military Courts in Wiltshire. 

A spokesperson told the newspaper: ‘Ex-Major General James Roddis will appear at Bulford Military Court Centre on 17 July 2024 charged with sexual assault contrary to Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

‘We expect very high standards of behaviour from all our personnel and take any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously.’

A native of Fife in Scotland, Roddis previously served as a director at Strategy Command, a division which bears responsibility for overseeing SAS missions as well as offensive cyber warfare campaigns. 

He’s understood to have earned multiple honours during his 30-year-career, from a Distinguished Service Order for his time in Afghanistan to an MBE from the late Queen.

In total, he did four combat tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, heading up units of up to 120 soldiers. 

Prior to the charges against Roddis, Nick Welch was the last Major General in the British military to face a court martial, which saw him convicted of fraud and sentenced to 21 months in prison. 

Before that, however, charges had not been brought against an official of that rank since 1815, when Lieutenant General Sir John Murray was convicted of abandoning key military weaponry during the Napoleonic Wars.

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