Get email updates with the day's biggest stories Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice A woman who has been in a coma for over 10 years has given birth, according to reports. Authorities in Arizona, in the US, have launched a sexual abuse investigation as they try to establish how the woman became pregnant and who fathered the child. AZ Family reports the patient, who is not being identified, has been in a vegetative state for 14 years after nearly drowning. But the news channel said last month she reportedly gave birth to a baby at a nursing facility in Phoenix. They said the baby was born on December 29 and is doing well. The mum is claimed to be a patient at Hacienda HealthCare in Phoenix. A source told AZ Family that "none of the staff were aware that she was pregnant until she was pretty much giving birth". The source said: "From what I’ve been told she was moaning. And they didn’t know what was wrong with her." It is alleged access to the new mum's room has now been restricted, despite her needing round the clock care. Male staff needing to enter female rooms must be accompanied by a female employee, the source said. Hacienda HealthCare is not commenting beyond a routine statement. It told Fox News all questions must be referred to the CEO of the nursing facility. A spokesman for Hacienda said the business "has an outstanding reputation providing high quality specialised care for our patients". They added: "As a Healthcare provider, we cannot comment on any patient due to Federal and State privacy laws. "Additionally, we cannot comment on any ongoing investigations. "We can say that our patients and clients health and safety is our number 1 priority and that we always cooperate, when asked by any agency, in an open and transparent way."<doc-sep>A licensed practical nurse who was supposed to care for a woman in a vegetative state at a long-term Arizona nursing facility was arrested and charged with raping her after she gave birth to a baby last month, officials announced Wednesday. Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said at a news conference that 36-year-old Nathan Sutherland was arrested and will be charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse for the incident at the Hacienda Healthcare facility in Phoenix. "We have worked virtually nonstop every day, every night to resolve this case," Williams told reporters, adding that the crime was "beyond reproach." Sutherland invoked his Fifth Amendment rights after his arrest and did not give an interview to authorities regarding the case, according to police. 2 DOCTORS AT ARIZONA CARE FACILITY WHERE WOMAN IN VEGETATIVE STATE GAVE BIRTH LEAVE The chief said that officers used "good old-fashioned police work" in addition to DNA tests on the baby to find a match and made the arrest. Sutherland had worked at the facility since 2011, officials added. "We owed this arrest for the victim, we owed this arrest for the newest member of our community, that innocent baby," Williams said. The 29-year-old victim has been in long-term care since the age of 3 and gave birth to a boy at the facility on Dec. 29. Employees at the time said they had no idea she was pregnant. Court records said her last known physical was in April. As her guardian, the woman's mother was required to submit an annual report to the court that included results of a medical exam. "We may not know how many times this occurred," Phoenix police spokesman Tommy Thompson told reporters. Investigators had obtained a court order to collect DNA from Sutherland, which was compared to DNA from the baby boy. PATIENT IN VEGETATIVE STATE GIVES BIRTH, SEX ABUSE INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY Thompson added that when the assault took place, Sutherland was responsible for the woman. "This was an employee, rather than a stranger who made his way into the facility," he said. The baby boy is "doing well," according to Thompson, who added that it's the community's job to protect the child. "We can't choose how we come into this world," he told reporters. Sutherland appeared in court Wednesday afternoon and did not enter a plea. A Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner ordered him released on a cash-only $500,000 bond. Sutherland must also wear an electronic monitoring device and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 30 Clad in a T-shirt, athletic pants and jacket, Sutherland was accompanied by defense attorney David Gregan, who said his client has no prior criminal record. Gregan also said Sutherland has the right to get his own DNA expert. The woman's parents on Tuesday through their attorney disputed characterizations that their daughter is comatose, according to the Associated Press. They described her as being intellectually disabled because of seizures in early childhood. While she doesn't speak, she has some mobility in her limbs, head and neck. She also responds to sound and can make facial gestures. Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams said that officers spent "endless hours" investigating the "hideous crime" "I know our officers took this crime to heart," she said. "This is a facility you should be safe in, and someone wasn't." In a statement to Fox 10, Hacienda Healthcare said that every member of the organization was "troubled beyond words." "Once again, we offer an apology and send our deepest sympathies to the client and her family, to the community and to our agency partners at every level," the organization said in a statement. "Nathan Sutherland, who held a current state of Arizona practical nurse’s license and who had undergone an extensive background check upon hiring – was terminated from Hacienda the moment our leadership team learned of his arrest," the statement continued. "As we have since the first minutes of this police investigation, the Hacienda team will continue to cooperate with investigators from multiple agencies in every way possible." Hacienda Healthcare said that in the past two weeks, security measures have been increased to ensure patient safety. "We will continue to do so," the organization told Fox 10. "We also will continue to review and improve what is already an in-depth vetting process for caregivers at Hacienda. We will not tolerate any mistreatment of a Hacienda patient, nor will we stop until every Hacienda patient is as safe as we can make them. " The arrest comes a day after officials disclosed that two doctors at Hacienda HealthCare in Arizona are no longer at the facility. "The two physicians who were responsible for the care of the sexual assault victim are no longer providing medical services to Hacienda patients. One has resigned. The other one has been suspended,” a spokesperson for the facility told Fox News. Neither doctor has been identified. CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP The latest development also comes after the facility's CEO, Bill Timmons, resigned earlier in January following the incident. The facility received a “below average” health-inspection rating in 2017, according to the Medicare website. Fox News' Madeline Farber and The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>A nurse accused of raping and impregnating a woman in a vegetative state who lived in a care facility has been held on $500,000 bond. Nathan Sutherland, 36, was ordered to pay the cash-only sum if he wishes to be freed after his initial court appearance Wednesday, and is still currently in custody. He is charged with sexual battery and vulnerable adult abuse after a DNA test identified him as the father of the victim’s baby. Sorry, this video isn't available any more. Sutherland did not make a plea in court and has been ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device if he posts bond. His lawyer told a court in Phoenix, Arizona, that the DNA result police used to arrest him is the only evidence they have against him, and asked to perform their own independent paternity test.’ Harry takes new swipe at royals saying families feel 'shame' over mental health If Sutherland posts the bond, he will also not be allowed to return to Hacienda HealthCare or contact the victims as conditions of his release. ‘There is no direct evidence that Mr Sutherland has committed these acts,’ said defense attorney David Gregan. ‘I know at this point there’s DNA. But he will have a right to his own DNA expert.’ Nathan Sutherland was released on $500,000 bail and was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device in court Wednesday (Picture: AZfamily) Hacienda HealthCare said in a statement that Sutherland had undergone ‘an extensive background check’ when he was hired. It also said he was fired as soon as Hacienda administration learned of his arrest. ‘Every member of the Hacienda organization is troubled beyond words to think that a licensed practical nurse could be capable of seriously harming a patient,’ the statement said. ‘We also will continue to review and improve what is already an in-depth vetting process for caregivers at Hacienda.’<doc-sep>
A male nurse has been arrested on suspicion of rape after a woman who has been in a coma for 14 years gave birth last month. Phoenix Police announced that Nathan Sutherland, 36, who was employed at the Hacienda HealthCare centre in Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested today after his DNA "matched the baby". Chief Jeri Williams said the hospital worker was responsible for caring for the patient during the time she was sexually assaulted. The 29-year-old mother was a patient at the 60-bed care facility and has been in a vegetative state for more than a decade after nearly drowning. (Image: MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE) Sutherland has been booked into Marciopa Jail on one charge of sexual assault and one charge of abusing a vulnerable adult. Chief Williams said: “The investigation was, and still is, the highest priority of our police department." Speaking at a press conference, Sgt. Tommy Thompson said: "We may not know how many times this occurred. “We cant always choose the way we come into this life, but this community can choose to love this baby. I’m told the baby is fine.” Police said Sutherland was a licensed practical nurse and had worked at the facility since 2011. He did not give an interview when arrested. Police said the baby was near or at full term and is doing "quite well" and is believed to have been released from hospital. An investigation was launched after the woman unexpectedly went into labour last month. In a bid to identify the child's father, search warrants were issued to obtain DNA samples from men working at the Hacienda HealthCare centre. earlier this month. Police said Nathan Sutherland was arrested on the basis of DNA evidence. Sgt Tommy Thompson previously told reporters: "As a police officer for 35 years, this is a case that even shocks my conscience, to think that something like this could occur." He added: "She was not in a position to give consent to any of this. This was a helpless victim who was sexually assaulted." The woman is a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a solicitor representing her family said the baby "has been born into a loving family and will be well cared for". While police said the woman is in a vegetative state, John Micheaels, the family’s lawyer, said she is not able to speak but can respond to sound, make facial gestures and has some ability to move her limbs, head and neck. Two doctors who were also involved in the woman's care have since left the facility. The CEO of Hacienda HealthCare Bill Timmons resigned shortly after the investigation began.