Thread by @DanLamothe

A soldier rose to become a general. His daughter says he abused her for years.

A months-long investigation of retired Army Maj. Gen. James Grazioplene, who now faces rape and incest charges.

In this case, his daughter, 47, tells her story. 1/

washingtonpost.com/world/national…

This is Jennifer Elmore. She's a vice president at @WellsFargo's division for wealthy clients, a wife and a mother. She says she was abused for most of her childhood. 2/

She and her attorney approached me and @washingtonpost months ago as the military's prosecution of her father disintegrated. The case was throw out on a technicality, and it appeared there were few other avenues to pursue charges. 3/

In May, I spent essentially an entire day with the Elmore family. We talked in her house for hours -- about growing up in the Army, her mother, her father, and moving out for good. 4/

I gently warned her that if I was going to write about the case, I'd have to check everything out. Call family. Call old friends. Call an ex-husband. She opened everything up, offering cell numbers in some cases. 5/

I also made many, many attempts to get her father, a retired Army general, on the record. Numerous calls, to both him and his lawyer. Specifics on what might appear in the story, too. I wanted to be transparent. 6/

I had launched into writing drafts of the story when there was a surprise: The case against Maj. Gen. Grazioplene is still alive, but in a different form. He was indicted by a grand jury in Virginia's Prince William County on Dec. 3, and arrested Dec. 7. 7/

This is Maj. Gen. Grazioplene when he was a one-star officer. He retired in 2005, and later worked for @DynCorpIntl as a vice president. He's no longer with the company.

This is him this month, too. 8/

Elmore has been grappling with what to do about her father for years.

“Sometimes, it’s just easier to shut your mouth,” she said. “But if I stay silent and the next person opts for that, and the next person opts for that, and the next person opts for that, where are we?” 9/9