Nurse arrested in rape of incapacitated woman who gave birth

A nurse who was supposed to be caring for an incapacitated woman at an Arizona medical facility was charged with raping her Wednesday — weeks after she gave birth to a baby boy.

Nathan Sutherland, 36, a licensed practical nurse at the Hacienda HealthCare facility was arrested for sexual assault and vulnerable adult abuse after a DNA sample he provided to authorities under court order Tuesday matched the baby, said Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams.

“We owed this arrest to the victim. We owed this arrest to the newest member of our community — that innocent baby,” Williams told reporters.

Staff at the facility — where the 29-year-old victim has been a patient since she was three, following a near-drowning — had no clue she was pregnant.

The surprise Dec. 29 birth triggered a slew of reviews by state agencies and led to the resignation of Hacienda HealthCare’s CEO.

Wearing a T-shirt, black jogging pants and a jacket, Sutherland appeared in Maricopa County Court Wednesday afternoon where he was ordered released on a cash-only $500,000 bond.

His defense attorney David Gregan said there was “no direct evidence” that he’d committed the heinous acts.

“I know at this point there’s DNA. But he will have a right to his own DNA expert,” Gregan said.

Cops initially said the victim was in a coma, but a lawyer for her family said last week that she’s not. The lawyer says she has “significant intellectual disabilities” and can’t speak but has some ability to move her limbs, make facial gestures and respond to sounds.

Her newborn, who is doing well, is being taken care of by the victim’s family.

“We can’t always choose how we come into this life, but we as a community can choose to love this child,” said Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson.

With Post wires