Former nurse Nathan Sutherland was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping and impregnating an incapacitated woman. Sutherland raped the woman at the Hacienda Healthcare facility in Phoenix, Az.
The ex-nurse was arrested after DNA evidence identified him as the child’s father in January of 2019. His termination from the Hacienda Healthcare facility followed shortly after that. Sutherland was also sentenced to lifetime probation as a sex offender.
Sutherland accepted a plea deal of between five-and-a-half to 10 years in prison plus lifetime probation after having pled guilty in September. He received the maximum sentence on Dec. 7. The former nurse apologized to the woman and her family during the sentencing hearing.
“To the victim, I am sorry,” said Sutherland said. “You didn’t deserve to be hurt no matter what was going on in my personal life and the demons I was fighting. I had no right to put you through that.”
The then 29-year-old disabled woman lived at the health care facility since she was three years old after several seizures left her incapacitated. She can not speak and can only partially move her head, neck and limbs.
The woman’s pregnancy was a surprise to the staff as they had no idea the woman was pregnant until the birth of her son in December of 2018.
Despite the woman having missed her period for months, having a swollen stomach and gaining weight, the staff did not realize that she was pregnant. The weight gain led the facility to decrease her nutrition, resulting in the woman giving birth while dehydrated and without pain medication. Her mother is the legal guardian of the child.
The family filed a lawsuit against the state because they were contracted with the facility. The lawsuit contends that the patient’s mother was assured only female employees would care for her daughter, yet, records showed that Sutherland had cared for the woman hundreds of times over six years. The state settled for $7.5 million.
The family also sued the doctor in charge of the woman’s care for $15 million. A judge approved the settlement. However, the doctor’s insurance company is refusing to pay.
Sutherland also lost his nursing license.
