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Former nurse convicted of raping disabled woman

2021-12-03T11:06:41.107Z


A man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman with an intellectual disability at an Arizona long-term care facility was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday, according to prosecutors.


The sexual assault occurred at the Hacienda HealthCare facility in Phoenix.

(CNN) -

A man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman with an intellectual disability at an Arizona long-term care facility was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday, according to prosecutors.

Nathan D. Sutherland, a former licensed practical nurse who cared for the woman, was charged with getting her pregnant in 2018 while she was in a vegetative state at the facility, prosecutors said.

The woman surprised employees by giving birth at the scene in December 2018, with one of them telling the 911 operator, "We had no idea she was pregnant."

In January 2019, Sutherland was arrested after a DNA sample matched that of the baby, police said.

Sutherland pleaded guilty in September to sexual assault and abuse of a vulnerable adult, court records show, at Hacienda HealthCare's Phoenix facility, where the victim had been living for years.

The woman had been a patient at Hacienda since 1992 due to a significant intellectual disability as a result of childhood seizures, her family told CNN, and has since left the facility.

Sutherland will be placed on life probation and will be required to register as a sex offender when released from prison, Maricopa County Prosecutor Allister Adel said in a statement.

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"The sentence imposed was the maximum allowed under the agreement and took into consideration numerous aggravating and mitigating factors, including the vulnerability of the victim and the position of trust of the accused," Adel said.

"This ruling honors the wishes of the victims in this case."

CNN has contacted Sutherland's attorney for comment.

After the sexual assault was revealed, Hacienda HealthCare said it was making changes to ensure the safety of its patients, including new security cameras and training for staff members on abuse and neglect protocols.

CNN's Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-12-03

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