The man arrested for the alleged sexual assault of a woman in a long-term vegetative state who gave birth has given up his nursing license, according to multiple reports.
Instead of a formal hearing, Nathan Sutherland, who was a licensed practical nurse at Arizona’s Hacienda HealthCare, voluntarily surrendered his license to the Arizona State Board of Nursing, reportsABC15,12NewsandAZ Family.
The state’s online licensing database no longer lists Sutherland as an LPN. His last day at Hacienda HealthCare was on Jan. 20.
Sutherland, 36, was a nurse in charge of the facility wing where the 29-year-old victim resided; she has been a resident of the facility since she was a toddler. He was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse.
Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock
He previously held licenses as a clinical nurse assistant, certified nursing aide and nurse assistant dating back to 2005, those records reveal. Sutherland had been employed at Hacienda HealthCare as a licensed practical nurse “since about 2011,” according to Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson.
Google Maps
The woman “lacks sufficient understanding and mental capacity to make decisions or give consents for her medical, placement or financial estate” and suffers from quadriplegia, recurrent pneumonia and a seizure disorder, according to her medical records.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Police say they learned about Sutherland after search warrants turned up records from the facility identifying those who may have had access to the victim during the time she was impregnated. “When the incident occurred, he was responsible for the care of that victim,” Sgt. Thompson said at a news conference Wednesday.
DNA samples were collected from “numerous individuals,” and Sutherland was arrested after providing a DNA sample under a court order that later matched with the child, Thompson said.
Nathan Sutherland, at left, in court Jan. 23, 2019.AZCentral
Police are investigating whether other patients at the facility also may have been assaulted, and have asked for the public’s help, but so far have no evidence of such behavior. “We are prepared to take this investigation wherever it goes,” said Sgt. Thompson.
Sutherland remains in the Maricopa County jail on a $500,000 cash bond and has not entered a plea to the charges. PEOPLE’s call to Gregan was not immediately returned. If Sutherland posts bond, he would need to wear an electronic monitoring device.
source: people.com
