Inside the Disturbing Sex Abuse of Army Pain Management Doctor, Who Assaulted Soldiers Seeking Treatment

A military doctor will spend more than a decade in prison after he admitted to sexually abusing dozens of his victims — all service members seeking medical care from him.

On Wednesday, Jan. 15 – a year since charges were brought against him – Maj. Michael Stockin, 39, was sentenced after pleading guilty to 36 counts of sexual abuse, the U.S. Army said.

Stockin had been in the Army since 2013 and was placed at Fort Lewis, Wa. in 2019, where he worked as an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist at Madigan Army Medical Center. He was suspended from patient care duties in 2022 following several allegations of sexual misconduct with patients.

In the claims against him, as well as during testimonies provided following his guilty plea, service members gave harrowing accounts of the abuse they experienced as well as its lifelong effects.

One victim, identified as John Doe 19 in the most recent round of claims, wrote that he is now unable to put on his army uniform without having a panic attack, FOX 13 Seattle reported in December. 

“I thought I was strong, that nothing could break me,” he wrote. “This experience shattered my life as a husband, father, and senior, non-commissioned officer.”

One complainant said Stockin assaulted him once when his wife was a patient. The complainant was allegedly ordered to expose his genitals while his wife lay drugged during treatment, Christine Dunn, a lawyer who is representing 22 alleged victims in a civil case against the military, told FOX 13 Seattle.

Months later, Stockin allegedly abused the complainant during his own surgery, which Stockin was not even assigned to, Dunn said.

“[W]hile my client was still groggy from the anesthesia, he lifted up his gown and exposed his genitals and viewed his genitals, which there was no medical reason for that,” she told the outlet in December.

“These brave soldiers are now riddled with anxiety and shame – many of them terrified to even seek medical attention,” Dunn said this week, per FOX 13 Seattle.

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Last January, Stockin was hit with 52 charges and specifications in connection with 41 patients between 2019 and 2022, the Army said. 

It wasn’t immediately clear what all those charges included. Stockin also pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent viewing, per the Army.

Had he not pleaded guilty, he would be facing a sentence of 300 years, FOX 13 Seattle reported, citing Stockin’s lawyer, Robert Capovilla. Now he will spend 164 months — a little over 13 years — in prison, per the Army. 

Capovilla told FOX 13 Seattle that Stockin “took full responsibility” for his actions. “The Defense hopes and prays that the victims and Maj. Stockin will finally be able to heal and to move forward with their lives,” he said.

The Army did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.