A SPECIAL Ops general once tipped to lead the Army has admitted “disgraceful conduct of an indecent kind”.
Major General James Roddis, 52, is thought to be the most senior officer to face a court martial for an alleged sex crime.
He was accused of sexual assault, but admitted a lesser charge in a plea deal via videolink at Bulford military court, Wilts.
The hearing was told Roddis played with his victim’s hair before kissing her without her consent on April 12.
The married dad of three has since left the Army.
He had been director of strategy at Strategic Command, which oversees SAS missions and offensive cyber warfare.
Graham Coombes, prosecuting, said the victim was consulted before the plea deal was agreed and she was “content” with it.
He said: “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.”
Coombes said prosecutors consulted the victim before they agreed to the deal.
He told the court: “Her views are an important factor in the case and she is content.”
Roddis, who was also one of the pall bearers selected to carry Prince Philip’s coffin, will be sentenced on Sept 5.
He founded the Army’s Specialised Infantry Brigade, now called the Special Operations Brigade, and he led it from 2017.
Over the course of his 30-year career he won a DSO for commanding 4 Scots, the Highlanders Regiment, in Afghanistan in 2014.
He was appointed MBE in 2009, won two Queen’s Commendations for Valuable Service in 2008 and 2017, and got a mention in dispatches for combat in Iraq in 2004.
He also spent more than a decade “specialist military” missions which took him to 20 countries, according to his CV.
