Former Major General charged with sexual assault, Army says

A former senior Army officer will appear before military court later this month charged with sexual assault, an Army spokesperson has said.

Ex-Major General James Roddis is due to attend Bulford Military Court Centre on July 17 charged under Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

An Army spokesperson said: “We expect very high standards of behaviour from all our personnel and take any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously.

“Ex-Major General James Roddis will appear at Bulford Military Court Centre on 17th July 2024 charged with Sexual Assault contrary to Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

“We will not offer further comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.”

Roddis received a number of accolades over his military career, including a Distinguished Service Order – an award given for highly successful command and leadership during active operations.

Until recently, Roddis was director of strategy for Strategic Command – an organisation comprised of special forces and intelligence units among other responsibilities.

In 2014, he was commanding officer of The Highlanders – troops from the 4th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland – who were then the last Scottish battalion to serve in a combat role in Afghanistan.

In 2021, former Major General Nick Welch faced a four-week trial at the same venue, and was then the most senior officer to face court martial since 1815.

Welch, who left the military in 2018, was convicted of a single charge of fraud in March 2021 and was jailed for 21 months for falsely claiming more than £48,000 in allowances to pay for his children’s boarding school fees.