Beckley VA Medical Center in West Virginia will pay a $10.5 million settlement after 62 veterans reported that a physician at the facility sexually abused them, according to The Register-Herald.
An attorney who represented many of the hospital patients confirmed that each patient will receive $180,000.
The former physician, Jonathan Yates, started working at the Beckley VA Medical Center in April 2018. During his employment, several veterans reported sexual abuse and a criminal investigation into the conduct was launched in 2019.
At Mr. Yate's plea hearing, he admitted to sexually abusing three veterans under the guise of legitimate medical care. The veterans were seeking treatment to manage chronic pain through osteopathic manipulative therapy.
Mr. Yates admitted that "he rubbed the genitals of two veterans, and digitally penetrated a third veteran's rectum under the guise of legitimate medicine, when in fact he acted without a legitimate medical purpose," local news station WVVA reported.
Mr. Yates pleaded guilty to three felony counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and was sentenced to 25 years in prison and three years of supervised release in January. Mr. Yates surrendered his medical licenses as part of his plea agreement.