Former senior Army officer admits disgraceful conduct of an indecent kind
A former senior Army officer who had been accused of sexual assault has admitted the lesser charge of disgraceful conduct of an indecent kind.
Ex-major general James Roddis admitted playing with a woman's hair and kissing her on the lips without her consent.
The 52-year-old, who appeared at Bulford Military Court Centre via video link, is one of the most senior officers to have been court-martialled in more than 200 years.
Roddis, a married father-of-three, 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.
Judge Advocate General Alan Large told the court the offence took place on 12 April this year.
"Without her consent [you] repeatedly played with the hair of [the complainant] before kissing her," he said.
Prosecutor Graham Coombes said of the victim: "Her views are an important factor in the case - and she is content.
"Every case depends on its own facts and that is irrespective of the defendant's rank. We feel the plea adequately reflects the case.
"The plea is on a full facts basis as he accepts at no time did the complainant consent."
Roddis will be sentenced at the same court on 5 September.
He is understood to have left the Army recently.
Roddis received the UK's highest award for leadership in combat, the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), and a Mention in Dispatches after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He was made an MBE in 2009 and earned a pair of Queen's Commendations for Valuable Service in 2008 and 2017.
In 2014, he was commanding officer of The Highlanders, 4th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and he also founded the Army's elite Specialised Infantry Brigade in 2017.
His appearance at court martial is extremely rare for an officer of his rank.
The most recent example was Major General Nick Welch, who was jailed for 21 months at a court martial in 2021 after being convicted of fraud, having claimed expenses for boarding school fees.
He was the most senior officer to face court martial since 1815 as he was convicted of a single charge of fraud for falsely claiming more than £48,000 in allowances to pay for his children's school fees.
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