Fifteen current or retired Lewis-McChord Joint Base soldiers who say the military failed to protect them from a military doctor accused of sexual abuse are each seeking $5 million in damages for the emotional distress they say have suffered.
“I have overwhelming feelings of sadness, fear and anxiety,” one soldier said in his complaint. “The severity of this emotional toll has made it very difficult to confide in my family and seek comfort from them. I face distrust because of the way I was violated.”
Army doctor accused of sexually abusing 41 patients
Maj. Michael Stockin, an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist at the base’s Madigan Army Medical Center, faces 52 charges related to claims of abusive sexual contact with 41 victims, said Michelle McCaskill, spokesperson for the U.S. Army Officer of Special Trial Counsel. He has pleaded not guilty.
Stockin will appear before court-martial in January 2025. A court-martial is the military’s legal system. Trials are similar to the criminal justice system, where both sides present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. A charge of abuse of sexual content carries a maximum sentence of seven years, and a charge of indecent viewing carries a maximum sentence of one year. If the judge were to file the sexual assault charges consecutively, he could face a maximum of 336 years in prison, McCaskill said.
His attorney, Robert Capovilla, said they plan to fight every charge until the jury reaches a verdict.
Soldiers’ attempt to sue the military for negligence may end before it begins
“Until then, we sincerely hope that the U.S. military is fully prepared to respect Major Stockin’s constitutional rights at every stage of this process,” he told The Associated Press. “We urge everyone to keep an open mind, remember that Major Stockin is presumed innocent and understand that this fight is just beginning.”
JBLM is the fifth largest base in the U.S. military and is located about 47 miles south of Seattle. It has a population of over 100,000 – 40,000 active duty, 50,000 family members and 15,000 civilian and contract employees. Its staff includes the Yakama Training Center. Madigan Medical Center is the military’s second largest medical treatment facility.
The group Protect Our Defenders called the Stockin case the largest sex abuse scandal in recent history and called for a congressional review.
“Stockin must be held accountable. Army leadership must answer for how and why Stockin’s abuse was allowed to continue,” the group said in a November news release ahead of the doctor’s first hearing on the charges. “We urge the Pentagon to take this matter seriously and support and encourage male survivors who are seeking justice and asking for help. We cannot repeat history by silencing survivors.”
Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ruth Castro said that when they received the first 11 claims, they sent a statement in March saying they were reviewing them and that “no decision will be made on how to respond until the Army’s review is complete and the claims have been investigated.” Castro said late Friday that she was trying to find out if they had an update on that response.
The 15 soldiers who filed the complaints were former patients of Dr. Stockin. They saw him mainly for pain management. The latest complaints were filed on Thursday on behalf of three members of the Army and one of the Air Force. All four suffered from chronic back pain.
One of them said he had an appointment with Stockin in September 2021 about a pulled muscle in his lower back. He was taken to an examination room and was alone with Stockin when the doctor told him to take off his pants and underwear, the complaint said. He said Stockin touched his genitals without wearing gloves.
The other three told similar stories. They all said they had never had an exam like this before and felt uncomfortable and violated.
“I really believe that directly led to me drinking more, because I didn’t know how to deal with this trauma,” said one of the men. He spent a year drinking until he blacked out, and eventually went to an outpatient rehabilitation program to get sober.
“Since 2022, I have had to ask my wife to be present at every medical appointment because I do not feel comfortable speaking one-on-one with a medical professional as a direct result of Dr. Stockin,” he said.
The law firm Sanford Heisler Sharp filed Federal Tort Claims Act complaints against the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense on behalf of the military, alleging that the agencies were negligent in hiring, supervising, and retaining Dr. Stockin. They have six months to investigate the claims and then the military can file a federal lawsuit, said Christine Dunn, a lead attorney on the cases.
One of the soldiers said he reported Stockin’s behavior to his superior, but nothing was done about it. Two other complaints say Stockin continued to see and abuse patients until April 2022 — two months after the Army claimed it removed him from service, Dunn said.
“Every time another victim contacts me, I become more determined to hold the military accountable for putting this serial killer in a position to abuse patients,” Dunn said. “The sheer number of victims here speaks to the military’s failure to keep patients safe.”
