A army physician who pleaded responsible sexually abusing dozens of male soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord was sentenced Wednesday to only over 13 years in jail, ordered to forfeit all pay and advantages and dismissed from the U.S. Army.
Major Michael Stockin, an anesthesiologist and ache administration specialist on the base’s Madigan Army Medical Center, he pleaded guilty on January 8 to 36 specs, or counts, of abusive sexual contact and 5 of indecent viewing, stated Michelle McCaskill, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel.
“The courtroom’s sentence holds Major Stockin accountable for each individual he victimized by means of his crimes,” Major Allyson Montgomery, prosecutor for the Army’s Special Trial Bureau, stated in a press release. “The outcomes of this continuing make clear the trauma brought on by Maj. Stockin by permitting each sufferer’s voices to be heard in a public listening to.”
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JBLM is the Army’s fifth largest base and is situated about 47 miles (75 kilometers) south of Seattle. Madigan Medical Center is the Army’s second largest medical care facility.
After his plea, 22 of the 41 victims testified to the trauma and anguish they endured because of Stockin’s abuse. Many claimed that Stockin triggered them detrimental emotional, bodily and psychological hurt because of the crimes dedicated in opposition to them.
“The resilience of the victims on this case needs to be celebrated,” stated lead prosecutor Major Ryan Keeter. “They have lived with the trauma ensuing from Major Stockin’s actions for years and with the ultimate 16 months of litigation to return. Getting to this court-martial has not been straightforward. I thank them for his or her persistence, their energy and their willpower to justice.”
Stockin’s lawyer, Robert Capovilla, stated the physician confronted greater than 300 years in jail, however his sentence was restricted to only over a dozen years.
“Major Stockin took full accountability for his actions and made no excuses,” Capovilla stated in an e-mail. “Defense hopes and prays that the victims and Major Stockin will lastly heal and transfer on with their lives.”
Lawyers representing 22 of Stockin’s former sufferers have filed Federal Tort Claims Act complaints in opposition to the Army and the Department of Defense on behalf of the army, alleging that the companies had been negligent in hiring, supervising and retaining Stockin. Both are searching for $5 million in damages for the emotional misery they are saying they suffered.
Christine Dunn, who represents the victims, stated Stockin’s conviction offers some sense of justice, “however for our purchasers, true justice requires holding the Army accountable for its function in permitting this to occur.”
The Army failed its purchasers and different victims, scarring them for all times, Dunn stated in an e-mail.
“During the sentencing listening to, sufferer after sufferer described the emotional affect the sexual abuse had on their lives,” Dunn stated. “These courageous troopers are actually crammed with nervousness and disgrace – lots of them are afraid of even searching for medical consideration.”
The Army launched an investigation into Stockin in 2022 after receiving quite a few complaints, McCaskill stated. He was suspended from affected person care and given administrative duties. He was formally charged in August 2023 with 23 counts of abusive sexual contact. In January 2024, the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel filed 52 costs and specs, stemming from allegations of 41 male sufferers it handled between 2019 and 2022.
Stockin will probably be transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the place he’ll serve his jail sentence, McCaskill stated. Based on his crimes, he will probably be required to register as a intercourse offender and will probably be topic to federal and state intercourse offender registration necessities upon launch from jail.
