A nurse in the State of Arizona, the United States (US) was on Thursday sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Phoenix court for raping and impregnating a physically challenged female patient who was assigned under his care at a medical facility.
The nurse, Nathan Sutherland, was said to have accepted raping the 29-year-old disabled woman at a hospital in Phoenix. The woman has been in the medical facility since she was three years old.
The family complained that the disabled woman encountered significant mental disability due to seizures early in her childhood.
The Attorney to the rape victim in a statement narrated: “She does not speak but has some ability to move her limbs, head and neck.
“Their daughter responds to sound and is able to make facial gestures. The important thing is that she is a beloved daughter, albeit with significant intellectual disabilities.”
The rape incident was said to have occurred in December 2019.
After delivery, DNA samples of male employees at the care facility were taken for examination, and the result indicated Sutherland was responsible for the pregnancy and the father of the child.
The nurse was said to have earlier denied responsibility, but later admitted. He was registered as a sex offender after the sentence.