A 36-year-old nurse who allegedly raped and impregnated a woman in coma for 14 years has been arrested by the police in Arizona.
The suspect, Nathan Sutherland, was arrested after investigators obtained a DNA sample Tuesday, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
Police said that they had determined that his DNA matched the baby’s DNA and he was booked into the Maricopa County Jail without bond on Tuesday after being charged with one count of vulnerable adult abuse and one count of s*xual assault.
Speaking at a press conference, Sgt. Tommy Thompson said:
“We may not know how many times this occurred.
“We cant always choose the way we come into this life, but this community can choose to love this baby. I’m told the baby is fine.”
Sutherland, who worked as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at the facility, was taken into custody Tuesday, he was responsible for caring for the woman at the time of the alleged abuse that appears to have resulted in the pregnancy, a spokeswoman for the Phoenix Police Department announced in a press conference Wednesday.
The 29-year-old mother is a patient at the 60-bed care facility and has been in a vegetative state for more than a decade after nearly drowning.
She gave birth to a healthy boy in late December. Hacienda HealthCare staff has alleged no one knew she was pregnant until she went into labor.
