PHOENIX — A grand jury indicted former Hacienda Healthcare nurse Nathan Sutherland on charges of sexual assault and vulnerable adult abuse after a patient with significant intellectual disabilities gave birth at the Phoenix care facility.
The indictment came Tuesday, one month after the woman gave birth on Dec. 29 when employees did not know she was pregnant.
Police said they believe the baby was delivered at or near full-term. Court documents showed investigators believe the woman was assaulted and impregnated sometime between February 2018 and April 2018, when police say she would have been under Sutherland’s care.
Sutherland was arrested last Wednesday after his DNA sample was determined to be a match with the DNA from the baby.
Hacienda Healthcare has hired Indiana company Benchmark Human Services to oversee its operations after the state directed the facility to hire an outside manager.
Sutherland’s arraignment is set for Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 8:30 a.m.