PHOENIX (AP) – A nurse who was looking after an incapacitated woman at a long-term health care facility has been charged with raping her, weeks after she stunned her caregivers and family by giving birth to a baby boy, Phoenix police said Wednesday.
Investigators arrested 36-year-old Nathan Sutherland, a licensed practical nurse, on suspicion of one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said.
This photo provided by Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office shows Nathan Sutherland. Phoenix police say Sutherland, a licensed practical nurse, has been arrested on a charge of sexual assault of an incapacitated woman who gave birth last month at a long-term health care facility. Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, that investigators arrested Sutherland on one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office via AP)“We owed this arrest to the victim. We owed this arrest to the newest member of our community – that innocent baby,” Williams said.
The surprise birth late last month triggered reviews by state agencies and highlighted safety concerns for patients who are severely disabled or incapacitated. It also prompted authorities to test the DNA of all the men who worked at the Hacienda HealthCare facility.
Sutherland submitted his DNA sample under court order Tuesday and the results came back a few hours later, showing he was a match to the baby. He declined to speak with police and invoked his Fifth Amendment rights, Thompson said. A message left at a phone number listed for Sutherland was not immediately returned.