An Army doctor appeared for the first time on Friday in a military courtroom in the state of Washington. He is being prosecuted on over 50 counts of sexual misconduct, which are the result of allegations made by numerous patients. This could end up being one of the biggest cases of its kind for the Army.
According to the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, which is handling the case’s prosecution, Maj. Michael Stockin, a physician, is accused of 47 counts of abusive sexual contact and five counts of indecent viewing under the military code of justice.
Attorneys for the prosecution announced in a statement following the hearing that they had withdrawn the accusation of abusive sexual contact “after ongoing review of the evidence.”
There are forty-one male alleged victims. According to the records, he allegedly tried to conceal patient sexual assault by pretending that it served a “medical purpose.”
Prosecutors said that although Stockin was anticipated to enter a plea of not guilty, he chose to postpone doing so until the hearing.
The public has been asked to wait to pass judgment until the case is heard, according to Stockin’s attorney Robert Capovilla, who stated, “We intend to fight against every single allegation until the jury renders their verdict.”
“Until then, we sincerely hope that the United States Army is fully prepared to respect Major Stockin’s Constitutional rights at every phase of this process, both inside and outside of the courtroom,” Capovilla stated in a statement. “We urge everyone to keep an open mind, to remember Major Stockin is presumed innocent, and understand that this fight is just getting started.”
“Through close collaboration with the criminal investigators, [prosecutors] thoroughly evaluated the evidence and carefully considered all the facts before referring charges in this case,” the Office of Special Trial Counsel stated in a statement. “We are confident that the facts and evidence support a conviction and that will be demonstrated when the case goes to trial on Oct. 7.”
After serving more than 20 years in the Army, including three combat tours apiece, both men, who are now retired, claim abuse occurred under the pretense of medical attention.
According to the case docket, both indicate they plan to testify at Stockin’s court martial, which is expected to last more than a month and is currently set to start in October.
Regarding his impending testimony, the other stated, “It’s emotional, it’s not something I’m used to. I can deal with a lot of things. I can deal with anger, I can deal with combat, but emotions and things like that — it’s personal.”
According to the Washington State Department of Health database, Stockin’s medical license is still valid even though he has been barred from treating patients. Director of Army OSTC communications Michelle McCaskill stated that Stockin is still employed at Madigan in a “administrative nature in a non-clinical area.”
In a recent statement, prosecutors stated that they “will continue to evaluate whether to request pretrial confinement based on the potential for MAJ Stockin to be a flight risk or commit further serious misconduct.” However, they did not ask that Stockin be held before the court martial.
According to McCaskill, there is no obligatory minimum punishment; nonetheless, if Stockin is found guilty on all counts, the maximum sentence, if served consecutively, would be over 330 years in jail.
