A nurse, suspected of raping a patient who has been in a vegetative state for more than ten years, was arrested in Arizona after she gave birth to a baby at the end of December, police announced on Wednesday.
A DNA test to track down the suspect. The victim gave birth to a healthy baby boy on 29 December, whose DNA was linked to that of the suspect, leading to his arrest, the Phoenix Police Department in Arizona announced. The suspect, 36-year-old Nathan Sutherland, faces two charges: sexual assault and abuse of a vulnerable adult, Sergeant Tommy Thompson said at a press conference. Nathan Sutherland is “a registered nurse who was responsible for the victim’s care at the time of the sexual assault”, explained Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams. She added that she had never encountered such a case in her more than 30-year career.
The victim is unable to speak. The victim, aged 29, “was not in a position to give her consent”, the police stated. According to a statement from the young woman’s family, reported by the US media, the victim “has a significant intellectual disability due to seizures she suffered in early childhood”. She “cannot speak but has a limited ability to move her limbs, head and neck”, “responds to sounds and is able to show facial expressions”, the family explained.
Resignation of the centre’s chief executive. The victim was being treated at the Hacienda Healthcare centre, which provides care for around 2,500 people a year across the state of Arizona. “It’s a centre where you should be safe, and that was not the case for one person,” said Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams at the same press conference. The centre’s chief executive has resigned in the wake of the scandal, according to a statement.
A child “born into a loving family”.Staff had not realised that the victim was pregnant, and were only alerted when they “heard her moaning”, according to a source quoted by local television in early January. “The baby, from what I’m told, is doing well,” said Sergeant Thompson. “We can’t always choose how we come into the world, but what we can do, as a community, is love this child,” he said. The lawyer for the victim’s family said the child had been “born into a loving family who would look after him”, according to the The New York Times.