Army Maj. Michael Stockin leaves his court-martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, after pleading guilty to 41 counts of sexual abuse of former patients. Behind him is his lead defense attorney Robert Capovilla. (KOMO News-Seattle)
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD — A former sergeant testified at Maj. Michael Stockin’s court-martial for sex abuse charges that he sought pain relief to “stay in the fight” as an infantry unit leader, only to experience “anger, anxiety, irritation” after being molested by the Army doctor at the military base in Washington state.
“It was such a gut-wrenching feeling,” he testified
The sergeant said he had avoided treatment for injuries from combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, and struggled with pain from frequent marching with full gear.
“I couldn’t ruck, and if I couldn’t ruck, how could I order the soldiers in my unit to ruck,” he told those gathered in the courtroom. “I wanted to lead from the front.”
So the soldier finally had an appointment with Stockin at which he was told to disrobe and was touched on his genitals. The doctor told him it was part of a standard examination, he said.
That incident drove the soldier to “hang it up” and leave the Army instead of taking a promotion.
“The experience resonated throughout my life, my family,” the sergeant said. “I buried my head in the sand.”
He was among 17 service members and veterans who testified Friday, Saturday, and Monday in Stockin’s court-martial for sexually abusing 41 patients at the Lewis-McChord hospital.
Stockin pleaded guilty last week to 36 counts of abusive sexual contact and five counts of indecent viewing of the naked bodies of service members. The doctor was facing charges that could add up to 250 years in prison.
But under a plea deal, Stockin will be dismissed from the Army, lose all pay and benefits, and be required to register as a sex offender. As a felon, he would likely lose the right to vote or own firearms.
Col. Larry Babin, the military judge in the trial, told Stockin that pleading guilty meant he had decided to accept a verdict that “will forever stigmatize the character of his service” and damage his “economic and social acceptability.”
The judge still must render a sentence, which could include prison time. Prosecutors want him to serve 164 months in jail — just less than 14 years. Stockin’s lawyers are seeking 118 months, or less than 10 years.
The victims testified as part of the prosecutor’s case for a longer sentence.
Privates, sergeants, warrant officers, lieutenants, and captains came to the stand. Most serve or served in the Army. Stars and Stripes does not name people who identify themselves as victims of sexual abuse unless the person has agreed to be named.
Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., as seen on Oct. 2, 2024. Many of the incidents described by victims in the court-martial of Maj. Michael Stockin took place in rooms on the eighth floor of the military hospital. (Christopher Nititham and Hannah Covington/U.S. Army)
Madigan Army Medical Center at Lewis-McChord is the top military hospital in the Pacific Northwest and serves all troops needing to see doctors in medical specialties — such as pain management — because they might not be able to find the care at their base. Some of Stockin’s victims who testified served in the Navy and Air Force.
The victims sought treatment from Stockin for various reasons — from shoulder pain from loading missiles onto planes on aircraft carriers to hernias from lifting heavy loads to injuries from automobile accidents to spinal compression from “pounding dirt” in overseas deployments.
Many of them said their medical visits were an attempt to handle pain so they could stay in the military.
One captain said chronic nerve pain had him thinking about retiring, but his life had revolved around the military since college and he was loathe to end his career.
“I felt like I had a lot more to give to the Army,” he said.
The witnesses told of how Stockin would use his position as a doctor to make the fondling and viewing seem like standard parts of the medical examination, even when the patient’s pain was not in their groin area.
“He told me, ‘I need you to drop trou,’” a sergeant first class said.
When the sergeant dropped his pants but left his underwear on, the soldier testified Stockin used a more commanding voice to tell the patient to remove his underwear.
“No, I said I need you to drop trou!” the sergeant told the court.
Stockin then fondled him.
Another soldier testified Stockin commented on the size of his penis and said he must be good at pleasing women.
Nearly all the troops said they came away with a loss of trust in doctors and the ability of the military to police its ranks for predator sex offenders.
“Disturbing, disgusting,” one service member said.
Stockin had transferred to Lewis-McChord in July 2019 and was removed from seeing patients in February 2022 after initial complaints.
A few of the victims said they spoke out soon after their incidents with Stockin. Another soldier who has since left the Army testified Stockin commented on the size of his penis.
“I told my chain [of command] right away and was surprised when nothing happened,” he said.
Others said the exams made them anxious or uneasy, but they told themselves that Stockin was someone in authority whom they were unused to questioning.
“He was a doctor and an officer,” said an Army warrant officer, who called Stockin’s ability to avoid punishment for so long “a punch in the gut from the government.”
When the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division contacted him and asked whether he had been a patient at the base pain management clinic, the warrant officer said he knew immediately what and who they were calling about.
Many victims said they hid the full story from their friends and families. Some even persuaded themselves nothing wrong had occurred until faced with the evidence compiled against Stockin.
“I convinced myself that what I thought happened hadn’t happened,” a sergeant major said.
Others testified they blamed themselves and felt guilt about the incidents.
“I should have known better,” a sergeant said. “I thought, maybe it’s partially my fault. Did I write a blank check to the doctor to find a solution to my pain?”
Following an 18-month CID investigation, Stockin was initially charged with abusing nearly two dozen patients in September 2023. The reported incidents grew to include 54 charges by the summer of 2024.
Others spoke up only when it became apparent that they were not the only ones who Stockin had abused.
“You don’t want to be known as one who was sexually [abused],” said a retired sergeant.
Stockin’s plea deal was reached in September 2024.
Many of the witnesses at the court-martial were among 22 service members who have filed $5 million claims against the Army for negligence in allowing Stockin to commit his crimes. The claims are the first step in trying to sue the Army in civil court.
All the witnesses who were asked about the money said they saw it as a way to call attention to Stockin’s crimes and force the Army to face what happened to them as soldiers.
“I wasn’t taken seriously when I complained and there were more victims after me,” one soldier testified.
Another said he wanted to be loyal to the Army but eventually realized he needed to speak out.
“Why would I pour myself into this organization when someone in that organization can do something like that,” one sergeant said.
Another soldier said, “Actions speak louder than words and sometimes it takes action to get attention from a big organization.”
A senior Army sergeant testified he was on the stand telling his story publicly because he was fulfilling his enlistment oath to “bear true faith and allegiance” to the Constitution and the Army.
“It is my duty to stop this,” he said. “I want to make sure no one can let this happen again to someone else.”
