FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Former Veterans Affairs Doctor Charged with Civil Rights Offense
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 under color of law. Dr. Jonathan Yates, 51, was arrested without incident at his home today 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. Dr. Yates is scheduled for an initial appearance today at time before U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar Aboulhosn.
Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, U.S. Attorney Michael B. Stuart for the Southern District of West Virginia, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel, and Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael J. Missal announced the charge.
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. 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.
This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5342).
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-veterans-affairs-doctor-charged-civil-rights-offense