Watch as this soldier is tapped out by his Army comrades after suffering a tragic loss.
Sergiy Lugovy, who lost his family during basic training, was selected from his fellow recruits during a ceremony at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
The woman said she went to the obstetrics and gynecology clinic at Fort Hood, an Army base in Texas, nearly a year ago because she didn’t know what to take for sinus infections during pregnancy.
She said the doctor, Maj. Blaine McGraw, rubbed his knee while examining her neck and throat. She recalled to USA TODAY that he urged her to undergo a vaginal exam, tried to tear off her leggings and touched her genitals. She said the doctor laughed when she told him to stop.
The woman is one of more than 1,400 McGraw patients contacted by the Army in a snowballing investigation into Dr. McGraw’s conduct at the third-largest U.S. military base. The military said it is “contacting all patients seen by (medical center) health care providers during their tenure, even if there is currently no indication that we believe they have been affected by the allegations of misconduct that are currently under investigation.”
One patient who was approached by law enforcement about McGraw’s alleged misconduct filed a complaint in Texas court on November 10, alleging that McGraw sexually exploited women in his care for years and the military repeatedly failed to intervene.
The civil suit alleges the military kept McGraw on staff at Fort Hood and before that, at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii starting in 2019, despite patient complaints. According to the lawsuit, he secretly videotaped patients during pelvic exams and made lewd comments to them.
“The coaches ignored the warnings, laughed off the credible allegations, and allowed McGraw to continue practicing,” the complaint states. “The Army sheltered a predator in uniform.”
Plaintiffs’ attorney Andrew Kobos said he has heard about McGraw’s alleged misconduct from dozens of other women with accounts.
The plaintiffs are not named in the lawsuit. USA TODAY is not publishing the name of the person who reported the sexual assault.
McGraw moved to Hawaii in 2019 and arrived in Texas in late 2022, according to public records.
According to the Army’s Nov. 10 update, McGraw was suspended from practicing at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Oct. 17 “in response to patient allegations.” Mr. McGraw has not been charged with a crime.
“Dr. McGraw is fully cooperating with the investigation,” attorney Dan Conway said in a statement. “However, there is reason to believe that Army special agents are providing inaccurate and exaggerated information to the public.
“We can think of no other reason for the inaccurate disclosure than to influence the outcome of the case. Nevertheless, we continue to be cooperative.”
Conway, whose office is in San Antonio, said he had not seen a copy of the lawsuit filed Nov. 10 in Texas civil court.
Cobos, the plaintiff’s attorney, said the extensive investigation began when a military husband reported to Army investigators that he had witnessed McGraw secretly recording videos while examining his wife. Plaintiff was among 1,400 patients contacted after that initial report. Cobos said he is currently representing 56 women who have made similar claims against McGraw.
According to the complaint, the “whistleblower husband” requested a meeting with Army leadership but was “refused at all levels.”
Army spokesman Col. Kamil Starkoper countered that her husband was unable to meet with army leaders. He said the deputy chief of staff, command sergeant major and hospital director from III Armored Corps, headquartered at Fort Hood, met with the man and his wife.
Five years ago, Fort Hood became the focus of national accountability for the Army’s failure to stop sexual harassment within its ranks.
Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old soldier on the base, was brutally murdered, and it took months for searchers to discover her dismembered and burned body. Guillén said she had been sexually harassed by friends and family. An independent investigation found that Fort Hood leadership tolerated a “permissive environment” for sexual assault and harassment.
Guillén’s family lobbied in Washington, D.C., Congress acted, and the military ultimately moved internal sexual assault and harassment investigations out of its chain of command.
“I was always looking after myself.”
Two accusers, the plaintiff and another woman represented by Kobos, told USA TODAY that they saw McGraw for health concerns and routine exams. They claim they left his office with lingering trauma and shattered trust, and that the military failed to check on them or provide care.
The woman who sued McGraw said her husband was a longtime veteran of the military and left his first appointment with McGraw excited. Doctors were careful and attended to the woman’s hormonal issues and pelvic pain.
His behavior afterward was strange, the woman told USA TODAY. During the breast exam, he allegedly made “unflattering comments” complimenting her body. She added that he called her after hours and made comments that went beyond the doctor-patient relationship.
Then, on October 17, the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division called a woman whose husband had served in the military for more than 20 years and asked her to come to the scene and identify photos that appeared to be of her own face and body. Investigators said McGraw had secretly videotaped a chest and pelvic exam several days earlier.
During the examination, the woman recalled that McGraw spoke into the phone as if he were answering the phone, even though the phone was not ringing. He then allegedly shoved his phone into his front pocket with the camera facing outward.
After meeting with investigators, the woman sat alone in her car crying.
“It felt like it had been groomed the whole time,” she says.
“I can’t get that out of my head.”
Nearly a year after her experience with McGraw, the woman who suffered from sinusitis told USA TODAY through sobs that she still struggles to bond with her children and be intimate with her husband. A male doctor causes a visceral panic. She suddenly starts crying while going about her daily life.
“I can’t get it out of my head,” she said. “It just keeps playing over and over again.”
When McGraw pulled down her leggings and tried to touch her, she remembers saying, “If you don’t let go right now, I’m going to punch you in the face.”
The woman recalled tearfully telling a company clerk that day what had happened and begging him to report it. The person at the counter said no one was available and told her to “call or email.”
She said she called the hospital seven times to report it. Each time, she was ignored, hung up on, and pulled aside.
In mid-November, when Army investigators contacted the new mother about her experience with McGraw and learned how many other women had accused him, she said she threw up.
The Army did not provide her with trauma counseling, she said. Instead, the agent handed her a “one-page pamphlet.”
The Army said that since the investigation began, Darnall Medical Center has “increased its call center staff and extended its 24/7 operating hours.”
Starkoper said Army investigators also provided “additional resources” as needed after interviewing McGraw’s patients.
But the new mother said she felt ignored.
“You can’t hide everything,” the woman said. “People need to take responsibility.”
