2018 Rape Of Vegetative Hacienda Patient Ends With Guilty Pleas

Nathan Sutherland [Mugshot provided by Maricopa County Sheriff's Office]

A former licensed practical nurse for Hacienda Healthcare in Phoenix has pleaded guilty to felony abuse of a vulnerable adult and sexual abuse in a case that garnered national attention in 2018 when officials announced a patient in a vegetative state for more than two decades had given birth.

Nathan Dorceus Sutherland faces a prison term of 5.25 to 10 years when sentenced on Nov. 4. Once released, he will be on lifetime supervised probation.

Public records show the woman, 29 at the time, gave birth to a full-term boy in December 2018 even though none of her medical team realized she was pregnant. She required round-the-clock care due to a brain disorder which left her unable to use her limbs or communicate with her caregivers.

According to court documents, the woman had been a patient at the facility for 26 years.  Sutherland, now 39, was later identified as the infant’s father via DNA testing.  He had been on the woman’s care team for about 7 years.

A trial was set to start later this month but Sutherland accepted a plea deal instead.

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