A former nurse accused of having raped and impregnated an incapacitated patient at a medical center in the United States received a 10-year prison sentence, authorities said Friday.
Nathan Sutherland was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of abusing a patient at the health center where he worked. He initially denied the accusation, but later pleaded guilty to the sexual assault.
He was convicted by a judge in Arizona (southwest).
Sutherland will also have to undergo supervision for the rest of his life and will be categorized as a sex offender.
The victim, a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe, was admitted in 2008 to the Hacienda Healthcare health center in Arizona.
According to her family, as a child she suffered seizures that left sequelae. "He cannot speak but has the ability to move his limbs, head and neck"they explained. "Responds to sounds and is able to make facial gestures".
The young woman, then 29 years old, "I was in no position to consent" a sexual relationship, said police, who took over the investigation after the unexpected delivery.
Employees at the nursing home said they had no idea the patient was pregnant until she gave birth on Dec. 29, in a case that shocked the country.
Sutherland’s DNA matched that of the baby, who was left in the care of the patient’s family.
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