Disgusting! Former Nurse Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Unconscious Patient
According to court documents, an Arizona nurse admitted to raping and impregnating a patient while she was unconscious on Thursday and faces a sentence of 5-10 years in jail.
Nathan Sutherland of Arizona pled guilty to sexually assaulting a woman three years ago while she was in a vegetative state, Fox News reported. According to the report, that patient eventually fell pregnant as a result of the assault and gave birth to his child.
#BREAKING: Nathan Sutherland, the former Hacienda Healthcare nurse who is accused of raping a patient who later birthed a child, has pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges. https://t.co/RBr6dG8a0K pic.twitter.com/rVqC0TADOt
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) September 2, 2021
Along with the sexual assault accusation, Fox News reported that the former Hacienda nurse pled guilty to “abuse of a vulnerable adult.” According to the publication, because he pleaded guilty to the allegations, a settlement was reached in which he would face 5 1/4 to 10 years in jail plus lifetime probation.
Other nurses were not pleased with the plea deal, including a former nurse who claimed it was a “slap on the wrist,” according to KPHO-TV.
“This man did a heinous crime and he’s getting a slap on the wrist and it’s not right and everyone I talked to that worked at Hacienda, they’re furious. None of us can believe that’s all he’s going to get is a slap on the wrist,” said Davena Ballard, who was a nurse at a Hacienda-affiliated program.
Sutherland was detained after DNA tests established his paternity. The patient’s pregnancy was discovered in December 2018 as an employee was changing her clothes and noticed she was on the verge of giving birth.
According to Fox News, the patient’s parents filed a lawsuit against Sutherland stating that he was caring for their daughter between 2012 and 2018, despite having been assured by the state that only women would care for her.