81 women file civil suit against army gynecologist already charged criminally | US military

Another 81 women have filed a civil suit against a US army gynecologist who was recently criminally charged for secretly filming dozens of his patients during medical examinations.

The civil trial, which began in November, alleges that Blaine McGraw, an Army doctor and major at Fort Hood in Texas, repeatedly inappropriately touched and secretly filmed dozens of women during appointments at a base medical center.

The women claim they were “subjected to invasive, unnecessary and degrading touching, voyeurism and secret filming”.

Attorneys for the alleged victims filed an expanded complaint Wednesday, less than a day after the Army’s Office of Special Counsel filed criminal charges against McGraw. According to CNN, the criminal charges relate to 54 types of “indecent visual recording” and other related offenses involving 44 identified victims.

While the military filing focuses on the alleged recordings, the updated civil suit goes further, accusing McGraw of assault, sexual assault and battery under Texas law. The filing claims he “intentionally and knowingly engaged in harmful and offensive physical contact” during gynecological examinations. McGraw treated patients at Fort Hood beginning in 2023.

An active-duty soldier described an encounter during a rape kit exam in which she suspects McGraw took photos of her.

“During this deeply vulnerable procedure, he was constantly on the phone while between her legs,” the lawsuit states. The woman now believes he used his phone to take photos of her during the exam.

The complaint also states that McGraw “failed to document in his medical records that a rape kit had ever been completed.” Prosecutors who later took her complaint to criminal court “lacked clear forensic documentation and her attacker was ultimately acquitted,” the complaint alleges.

“McGraw’s misconduct in this context not only failed to protect a victim of sexual violence,” the filing adds. “This actively undermined his access to justice and allowed the perpetrator to escape accountability.” »

Legal experts and advocacy groups told The Washington Post that the case could test whether recent Pentagon reforms aimed at combating sexual misconduct and supporting survivors are working as intended.