A doctor of osteopathic medicine who formerly worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, has been charged in a criminal complaint with depriving a veteran of his civil rights.
Dr. Jonathan Yates, 51, was arrested without incident at his home by Special Agents of the FBI and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the Bluefield, Virginia Police Department.
According to the criminal complaint, while working at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in February 2019, Yates examined a male patient identified as Veteran 1, and during the examination Yates sexually molested Veteran 1. Yates caused Veteran 1 severe pain and numbness, and temporarily incapacitated him by cracking his neck, after Veteran 1 had explicitly requested Yates not to crack his neck. While Veteran 1 was incapacitated, Yates sexually molested Veteran 1 again.
WVVA reported: According to court records, that veteran said he went to the doctor for a referral and told the physician he did not want his neck cracked. He said Dr. Yates then locked the door and proceeded to massage his chest and calling him “a real man.” The witness said Dr. Yates later pulled his boxers down and started grabbing his private parts to the point of pain. He said the doctor continued despite being told to stop.
During the same appointment, the patient reported that Dr. Yates later slapped his backside and cracked his neck after being asked not to, which incapacitated the patient. “This neck crack caused veteran to experience severe pain and numbness throughout his body. Veteran 1 could not move,” the complaint read.
This conduct, performed while Dr. Yates was acting under color of law in his capacity as a federal employee at the VAMC, deprived Veteran 1 of his constitutional right to bodily integrity.
