Major General admits disgraceful indecent conduct cost
A Major General who carried Prince Philip’s coffin and was tipped as the future head of the British Army has admitted disgraceful indecent conduct after he was charged with sexual assault.
James Roddis, 52, of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, indecently played with a woman’s hair and kissed her on the lips without her consent on April 12 this year.
He appeared via video link at a hearing at the Court Martial Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire, where he admitted the lesser charge. He will be sentenced at the same court on September 5.
Roddis’ plea of not guilty to sexual assault section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act was accepted by the Service Prosecuting Authority.
Wearing a dark suit and tie, he spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea to a charge of disgraceful conduct of an indecent kind under section 23 of the Armed Forces Act.
It is extremely rare for an officer of his rank to face court martial.
The highly-decorated commander was a pallbearer at the Duke of Edinburgh‘s funeral in 2021 and had led thousands of soldiers during his unblemished 30-year career, earning multiple bravery awards.
Former Major General James Roddis, 52, appeared at a hearing at the Court Martial Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire, where he admitted the lesser charge of disgraceful indecent conduct
Roddis, a married father-of-three, is understood to have left the Army of his own accord in recent months.
Judge Advocate General Alan Large told the court Roddis had ‘without her consent [you] repeatedly played with the hair of [the complainant] before kissing her’.
Graham Coombes, prosecuting, told the court that the views of the complainant had been sought before the decision to accept the plea was made.
‘We have taken into account the seriousness of the offence and the live issue of consent and taken into account the views of the complainant,’ he said.
‘She has indicated she is content for it to be a disgraceful conduct count.
‘The plea is on a full facts basis, and it is accepted the complainant did not consent at any point to the behaviour.’
He was a contender to become Chief of General Staff and is only the second Major General to face a court martial in two centuries.
Roddis, a married father-of-three, is understood to have left the Army of his own accord in recent months.
He was until recently Director of Strategy at UK military’s Strategic Command, responsible for Special Forces units and other secretive intelligence-gathering and cyber units.
He has received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), the UK’s highest award for leadership in combat, and a Mention in Dispatches after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Roddis was made an MBE in 2009 and earned a pair of Queen’s Commendations for Valuable Service in 2008 and 2017 (Pictured here in 2014 at The Royal Regiment of Scotland at St. Barbara in Bad Fallingbostel, Germany)
Roddis was made an MBE in 2009 and earned a pair of Queen’s Commendations for Valuable Service in 2008 and 2017. He founded the Army’s elite Specialised Infantry Brigade in 2017.
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.
An Army spokesperson said earlier this month: ‘We expect very high standards of behaviour from all our personnel and take any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously.’
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.
