An Army doctor who sexually abused patients during fraudulent medical examinations was sentenced Wednesday to more than more than 13 years in prison.
An Army judge gave Army Maj. Michael Stockin the maximum amount of prison time — 13 years, 6 months — that a plea deal he made last week with military prosecutors allowed. Stockin’s sentence also includes a forfeiture of all pay and allowances and dismissal from the Army — a measure “equivalent” to a dishonorable discharge for enlisted troops, according to Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, which prosecuted Stockin.
Stockin will be transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to serve his prison sentence and be required to register as a sex offender. As part of his federal conviction, Stockin will also lose his medical license, McCaskill said.
The sentence comes after Stockin pleaded guilty last week to 36 charges of abusive sexual contact and five for the “indecent viewing” of undressed patients, all of whom were male, between “approximately” November 2019 through April 2022, according to the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel.
Christine Dunn, a lawyer representing 21 clients in the FTCA suit told Task & Purpose last week that some of them were abused after the Army began its investigation.
According to the Army, their inquiry into allegations of Stockin’s abuse began in February 2022, which led to his suspension from patient care and reassignment to administrative duties. The UCMJ case had also included instances of abuse that occurred up until April 2022, according to the Army office in charge of prosecuting the case.
“Maj. Stockin took full responsibility for his actions, and he made no excuses,” Robert Capovilla, Stockin’s lawyer, said in a statement. “The Defense hopes and prays that the victims and Major Stockin will finally be able to heal and to move forward with their lives.”
Officials with Protect Our Defenders, an organization that advocates for service members and veterans said in a statement that military sexual assault is underreported, “particularly among male survivors, whose experiences are often overlooked.”
“Male survivors continue to be marginalized by a broken system that retraumatizes victims and erodes trust in military leadership,” Josh Connolly, Protect Our Defenders senior vice president, said in a statement. “The fact that survivors had to rely on the media just to be heard is appalling. It highlights a critical need for meaningful reform that ensures accountability, prioritizes survivor care, and restores faith in our armed forces.”
The sentencing was calculated as four months for each of the 36 abusive charges and three months per unlawful viewing charge, according to Ryan Guilds, a lawyer representing seven of 41 named victims in the UCMJ court martial.
During the trial, Stockin admitted that he deceived the 41 victims he treated as a doctor at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, by telling them that he was providing medical care “when in fact he was assaulting them,” Guilds said.
In a similar impact that victims of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nasser described during his trial, Guilds said that many of the victims who testified shared their distrust of the medical system that stemmed from Stockin’s abuse.
“They do not go to the doctor,” Guilds said, adding that Stockin’s actions “destroyed their ability” to seek medical help.
According to administrative complaints filed in a separate civil Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit in which victims are seeking monetary damages from the Army, current and former soldiers alleged that Stockin did not offer them the option of a chaperone and ordered them to strip and groped them, often without gloves.
“His sentencing provides some sense of justice. But, for our clients, real justice requires holding the Army accountable for its role in allowing this to happen,” Dunn said in a statement. “Dr. Stockin has been sentenced for his role, now the Army must also be held accountable.”
Army officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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