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<\/p>\nA FORMER caregiver has pleased guilty to sexual abuse after a patient in a vegetative state became pregnant and gave birth.<\/p>\n
Nathan Sutherland, a former nurse at a Hacienda Healthcare facility in Phoenix, Arizona, pleaded guilty Thursday morning on sexual and vulnerable adult abuse charges.<\/p>\n
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Sutherland was arrested after police carried out a DNA test that showed that he was the father of the baby born in December 2018.<\/p>\n
According to reports, the patient was in care after a near-drowning incident that left her in a vegetative state.<\/p>\n
Staff at the facility were unaware that the woman was pregnant.<\/p>\n
Police were originally notified in December 2018, when the patient gave birth to a baby that needed immediate medical attention.<\/p>\n
Perry Petrilli, CEO of Hacienda Healthcare, said in a statement Thursday: "After more than two-and-a-half years, all of us at Hacienda Healthcare are relieved that Nathan Sutherland has finally pleaded guilty to his awful offenses.<\/p>\n
"We have cooperated in every way possible with law enforcement and investigators – and now we hope the judge will sentence Sutherland appropriately given the severity of his crimes.<\/p>\n
"As ever, our hearts are with the victim and her family. May these final steps in the legal process help them find peace."<\/p>\n
According to doctors, a baby can still fully develop inside a woman in a vegetative state.<\/p>\n
Sutherland "worked around the victim and treated her on numerous occasions and thus had direct access to her for an extended period of time," court papers said.<\/p>\n
After being hospitalized, the baby was reportedly in good condition, but the family have not made any further details public since.<\/p>\n
The Maricopa County Attorney\u2019s Office said Sutherland, who will be sentenced in November, is facing 5 to 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n
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