A retired Army general who was born in Batavia, attended Notre Dame High School, and was nominated by the late Rep. Barber Conable to attend West Point, has been accused by his grown daughter of sexual abuse that started when she was a toddler and continued into her high school years.
The Army attempted to court-martial Maj. Gen. James J. Grazioplene, 69, who retired in 2005, last year. But a judge ruled the statute of limitations had run out under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, even though there was otherwise enough evidence to prosecute Grazioplene.
While Grazioplene avoided a court-martial, civilian authorities took up the investigation and Grazioplene was arrested Dec. 7 following an indictment by a grand jury in Prince William County, Va., on multiple counts of rape and incest.
Jennifer M. Elmore, 47, a Virginia resident, told the Washington Post, which broke the story, her earliest memory of sexual abuse was when she was 3 years old and at her grandmother's house in Le Roy.
The military's investigation focused on events from 1983 to 1989. Virginia authorities concentrated on events in 1988 and 1989, when the family lived in Woodbridge, Va., where Elmore attended high school in her junior year.
According to the Post, Grazioplene has denied the charges, telling a reporter in September, “The charges are false and incorrect." Grazioplene and his attorney have declined to comment on the case otherwise.
Like many news organizations, the Post does not typically reveal the names of victims in sexual crimes but Elmore told the Post she wanted to go public.
According to the Post, reporters interviewed Elmore, other family members, including Grazioplene 's sister, coworkers, and reviewed letters, all of which corroborated some of Elmore's version of events.
Elmore said she's been estranged from her parents for years and her parents have tried to bridge the gap. She decided to tell the military about the alleged abuse in 2015 after a phone call where her parents apparently again tried to talk her into being part of the family again and her father said, according to Elmore, that “the only thing worse that I could have done to you is murder you.”
Grazioplene was nominated to West Point by Conable in 1967. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the academy in 1971. His LinkedIn profile says he is currently CEO at Mission Readiness LLC. He's also worked for Total Life Cycle Support and DynCorp. International.
