An Army anesthesiologist pleaded guilty Tuesday to 41 charges of sexual misconduct involving dozens of patients at a Washington military medical facility in one of the largest sexual abuse investigations in the service’s history.
Maj. Michael Stockin faces a potential sentence of nearly 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to abusive sexual contact and indecent viewing of patients he treated at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord between 2019 and 2022.
A military judge will hear victims testify this week and determine whether to accept the plea agreement Stockin and his attorneys made with government prosecutors.
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Stockin admitted to 36 counts of abusive sexual contact and five counts of indecent viewing, said Michelle McCaskill, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.
Stockin’s court-martial trial, which began Tuesday, is expected to last until Jan. 17, according to McCaskill.
Stockin pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal with the government before this week’s trial.
“I can confirm the prosecution team has been in regular contact with each victim and frequently hosts town hall meetings with the victims and their legal representatives where all facets of the case are discussed, to include the terms of the agreement,” McCaskill said. “All victims and their legal representatives were given the opportunity to provide input on the terms of the agreement.”
Many patients who later reported abuse allegations against Stockin were male soldiers seeking medical treatment for a variety of injuries requiring pain management.
The victims allege that during what Stockin claimed were routine exams, he would grope them, focusing unnecessarily on their genital area, even when it was unrelated to the injury or pain for which they sought treatment, according to a separate, federal civil lawsuit filed by alleged victims against the Army.
That lawsuit includes 21 victims each seeking $5 million in damages from the government.
Christine Dunn, an attorney representing the victims in the civil suit, said in a release Tuesday that Stockin was not the only party responsible for the alleged abuse.
“The story doesn’t end here,” Dunn said. “The Army played a substantial role in allowing the rampant sexual abuse to occur in the first place. The time has come for the Army to be held accountable for its negligence.”
Army investigators first received reported allegations of Stockin’s alleged sexual misconduct in February 2022, Army Times previously reported.
Stockin was immediately suspended from seeing patients when officials received the reports, Lt. Col. Jennifer Bocanegra, a JBLM spokeswoman, previously told Army Times.
Following his suspension, Stockin continued working administrative duties in a “non-clinical area” of the medical center, Bocanegra said. He did not live on JBLM, according to officials.
Prosecutors previously referred 52 charges and specifications against Stockin, including 47 counts of abusive sexual contact and five for indecent viewing for a total of 41 victims.
The investigation spanned more than a year until charges were brought against Stockin in August 2023. Initial reports involved 23 alleged victims, but that number rose to 41 after prosecutors filed updated charges against Stockin in February 2024.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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