Police Arrest Nurse for Rape of Woman in Vegetative State Who Gave Birth in Long-Term Care Facility
An Arizona woman in a vegetative state gave birth last month in a long-term care facility and police have arrested one of the facility’s nurses in connection with the incident.
As Christian Headlines previously reported, employees at the Hacienda HealthCare facility only realized that the Phoenix woman, who has been a patient at Hacienda HealthCare for 26 years, was pregnant when she began to make moaning sounds while delivering her baby.
According to Fox News, the 29-year-old victim was placed in long-term care at three-years-old after a near-drowning incident that left her with severe intellectual and mobility disabilities as well as the inability to speak.
After giving birth to her baby boy in late-December, Phoenix Police began to investigate the incident. Through a combination of “good old fashion police work” and DNA testing, police were able to identify 36-year-old Nathan Sutherland, a nurse at the facility, as the man who impregnated the victim.
The Phoenix Police Chief said in a statement that authorities were able to run DNA tests on the baby against DNA collected from Hacienda employees to identify the perpetrator.
According to Fox News, Sutherland is being charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse.
Additionally, two doctors who were charged with providing care for the woman are no longer working at the facility. Fox News reports one of the doctors as resigned and the other has been placed on suspension. The organizations CEO has also stepped down in the wake of the incident.
Photo courtesy: Pixabay
Comments are closed.