Former Fort Hood doctor arrested for secretly videotaping patients

FORT HOOD, Texas - Survivors and advocates are demanding accountability after a former Army doctor was accused of sexual assault and misconduct earlier this year. 

The backstory:

Over 80 survivors have filed a lawsuit against former Army Dr. Major Blaine McGraw, an OB-GYN who practiced at the Carl R. Darnell Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. 

McGraw is accused of secretly recording patients and inappropriately touching them during exams. 

At a rally on Wednesday held by Cobos Law Firm, which is representing some of the women, as well as advocacy group Shield of Sisters, one survivor told the crowd that McGraw assaulted her when she went in to be treated for a sinus infection, and he allegedly insisted on a pelvic exam.

"Dr McGraw repeatedly touched me without consent," she said. "He laughed when I told him to stop."

Previously, McGraw practiced at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, and attorneys with Cobos Law Firm say his crimes likely affected over 1,000 people.

"This is the biggest sexual assault case in the history of the United States military," said attorney Andrew Cobos, of Cobos Law Firm. 

Advocates and survivors say they want to see accountability, and meaningful reform, such as a policy requiring mandatory chaperons during exams.

"We have someone who felt like it was okay to do anything to women, and because nobody was present, he almost felt powerful and felt like it was okay to do these things," said one survivor who chose to go by the alias Jane Doe to protect her privacy. "A chaperon is very, very important at this point I feel like for anything, even if it's not an invasive exam. 

Cobos called that policy a commonsense measure that would help rectify the power imbalance that often exists within military medical centers, and which played a role in the cases of some of the survivors he now represents.

Speaking of one survivor's experience, Cobos said, "She was at a power disadvantage. She's a private in the military, and he is a major in the military. He's a male, she's a female. He's a doctor. She's not."

McGraw has been criminally charged and is currently in pretrial confinement at the Bell County Jail. Attorneys for the survivors are calling on lawmakers in congress to investigate why this happened, and to enact legislation to ensure that it doesn't happen again in the future. 

"I want to reiterate my call on Congress. I want to reiterate my call on the army. There should never be another occasion where a woman is left vulnerable in an examination room with an OB-GYN," said Cobos. "That needs to change."

Advocacy group Shield of Sisters is currently working to extend the definition of Military Sexual Trauma, which is currently defined as sexual assault or repeated sexual harassment experienced by members of the armed forces. In light of this case, and the alleged assault of women who were spouses and family of military service members, advocates for Shield of Sisters want to see the definition updated to include anyone who experiences sexual trauma at the hands of a military service member, including family and other non-service individuals. 

On Wednesday, survivors who spoke out said they chose to do so because they never want this to happen to anyone else, because they want real accountability and mandatory protections put in place moving forward, and because they want women's health and safety to be non-negotiable. 

"The gravity of what happened to us reflects a culture where women's safety is treated like an afterthought, where warning signs are ignored, and complaints disappear," said one survivor. "This is a system where predators are allowed to hide behind their uniforms."