BELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — A former Fort Hood Army doctor accused of secretly recording and sexually abusing patients will have his child custody case heard by a new judge next month.
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Maj. Blaine McGraw was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for his ongoing custody battle with his ex-wife, but the hearing was rescheduled after attorneys objected to having an associate judge hear the case.
McGraw, a former Army OB-GYN, is currently being held in pretrial confinement at the Bell County Jail as the Army investigates allegations that he secretly recorded and sexually abused his patients.
Since McGraw is in jail, his attorneys have been trying to get the court to grant his oldest daughter custody of her younger sister. His ex-wife currently has temporary custody of the younger daughter she shares with McGraw.
The associate judge assigned to the case rejected a request from McGraw's attorneys to involve his oldest daughter. They asked for a new hearing in front of an elected district judge who will review the case from the beginning without considering the prior judge's decisions.
The motion was approved and a new hearing will be handled by 426th District Court Judge Steven Duskie. According to Bell County court records, McGraw's attorneys requested a de novo hearing and hearing on petition in intervention and motion to reopen evidence. The ex-wife's attorney filed a motion to strike intervention for the February 19 hearing with the new judge.
A de novo hearing is essentially a "new trial" in a matter that an associate judge has already heard. In this proceeding, the district judge reviews the case from the beginning without giving any deference to the associate judge's prior decisions.
At the same time McGraw is dealing with this ongoing custody case, he's also facing a civil lawsuit from dozens of former patients accusing him of secretly recording them during private medical exams.
Right now, some advocates and attorneys for McGraw's alleged victims are in Washington, D.C., calling for change in the military, including strengthening the chaperone policy.
"We're gonna do everything we can to bring such awareness that the federal government has to come down and say, this is gonna be the changes," said Shannon Hough, executive director of Shield of Sisters.
McGraw will be back in court on February 19 for a new hearing with the new judge for this custody case.
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