Retired Army General Arrested, Indicted on Child Rape, Incest Charges

Retired Army Maj. Gen. James Grazioplene is in a Virginia jail after being indicted on incest and rape charges involving a child -- allegations dating to the 1980s that the Army dismissed earlier this year because of military statute of limitations laws.

Grazioplene, who retired in 2005, was arrested Dec. 7 and had not been released from the Prince William County jail as of Tuesday morning, Christina Shaw, the deputy Prince William County Circuit Court clerk, told Military.com.

The retired two-star faces three counts of incest and three counts of rape, according to his attorney, Thomas Pavlinic, a Maryland lawyer who will be sharing Grazioplene's defense with Virginia attorney John Irving.

Grazioplene had an initial court appearance Monday and is scheduled to appear again on Dec. 20, Shaw said.

Pavlinic declined to comment on the details of the case but said Grazioplene's Dec. 20 hearing will review his client's bail options.

The Washington Post first reported on this story.

In 2017, the Army charged Grazioplene with violating Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice with six specifications of rape of a minor on multiple occasions between 1983 and 1989.

The service dismissed the case in March after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled there should be a five-year statute of limitations on rape charges, the Post reported.

Virginia has no statute of limitations on rape charges.

The Army could still punish Grazioplene with a demotion in his retirement and a formal written reprimand, the Post reported.

Army officials said they could not comment on a case pending legal action.

Grazioplene lives in Gainesville, Virginia. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1971 and became an armor officer, serving 34 years in the Army.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.