The probable cause statement further stated that Sutherland “worked around the victim, treated her on numerous occasions and thus had direct access to her for an extended period of time.” The statement also said he declined to speak with detectives about his involvement in the incident.<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>PHOENIX – Phoenix police arrested a 36-year-old nurse at Hacienda HealthCare facility, alleging he sexually assaulted and impregnated an incapacitated woman at the center. The woman gave birth to a boy Dec. 29. Staff members told a 911 operator that they had not known she was pregnant. "From the minute we first became aware of the crime, we have virtually worked nonstop seven days a week to resolve this case," Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said in announcing the arrest Wednesday morning. Williams joined Mayor Thelda Williams at Phoenix police headquarters for an update on the case Wednesday. The nurse, Nathan Sutherland, is a licensed practical nurse who was primarily responsible for caring for the victim woman at the time of the assault, police said. He has worked at Hacienda since 2011. He was booked into Maricopa County Jail on Wednesday. At an initial hearing, his attorney said there was "minimum" evidence his client committed the crime. A court commissioner set bail at $500,000. The parents of the patient who gave birth are aware of the arrest. State records show Sutherland was licensed as a clinical nursing assistant in 2005 before he became a licensed practical nurse. Hacienda HealthCare officials say Sutherland went through an "extensive background check" when he was hired. He was terminated "the moment our leadership team learned of his arrest," said a statement the facility released this morning. "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. "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." Officials with the nonprofit health care company say they will "continue to review and improve what is already an in-depth vetting process for caregivers at Hacienda." The Phoenix police crime lab determined Tuesday that a DNA sample taken from Sutherland matched the baby's DNA. Sutherland was arrested the same day. Police had announced they would be testing the DNA of all the facility's employees. Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said police didn't have the opportunity to collect Sutherland's DNA through a court order until Tuesday. Sutherland declined to answer investigators' questions after he was arrested Tuesday, Thompson said. Jan. 22:Doctor who cared for rape victim who gave birth at Phoenix nursing facility resigns, another suspended Jan. 19:Rape victim who gave birth at Phoenix nursing facility is not in a coma, lawyer says Sutherland was booked into Maricopa County Jail on Wednesday, charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse. Maricopa County Superior Court records show Sutherland has not been charged with any other major crimes. He appeared in Maricopa County Superior Court alongside Mesa attorney Dave Gregan for an initial appearance shortly before noon. He did not enter a plea. Gregan asked the judge to set a low bail given the "minimum" evidence and the fact that Sutherland has lived in Arizona since 1993 and he doesn't have a criminal history. The defense plans to do its own DNA test. "There's no direct evidence Mr. Sutherland committed these acts," Gregan said. If Sutherland is released, he'll be placed on house arrest and will have to wear an electronic monitoring device. He won't be allowed to return to Hacienda or contact the victims as conditions of his release. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 30. Thompson said police were still working to determine whether other patients inside the 60-bed facility were assaulted. Thompson said the baby was full-term and has since been released from the hospital. "We can't always choose how we come into this life, but we can choose as a community how we will love this child – and that's what we need to do," he said. According to court records, the woman, who is a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, has been a patient at Hacienda for 26 years. The records say the woman is "not alert" and needs a "maximum level of care." In the weeks since the 911 call calling for help after the child's birth, police and state agencies have launched investigations and the director of the facility resigned. Hacienda HealthCare also hired former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley to conduct an independent investigation into patient safety. Follow Bree Burkitt, Mackenzie Shuman and Craig Harris on Twitter: @breeburkitt, @MackenzieShuman and @charrisazrep Opinion:An incapacitated woman is pregnant and no one notices? How does that happen? Jan. 11:'We had no idea this patient was pregnant': Nurse's 911 call details surprise birth Jan. 9:Phoenix police: Finding incapacitated patient's rapist 'highest priority' Jan. 8:Police seek DNA from male workers at Phoenix nursing facility where patient became pregnant Jan. 8:Top executive of care facility resigns after patient in incapacitated state gives birth following apparent sex abuse Jan. 4:Officials investigate apparent sex abuse after patient at facility for people with disabilities gives birth<doc-sep>
A nurse at a health care facility in Phoenix where an incapacitated woman gave birth in December has been arrested, police said Wednesday. Nathan Sutherland, 36, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and vulnerable adult abuse. Wearing a T-shirt, black athletic pants and jacket, he appeared in court Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. A Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner ordered him released on a cash-only $500,000 bond on the condition that he must wear an electronic monitoring device, according to the AP. Sgt. Tommy Thompson with the Phoenix Police Department said Sutherland was a licensed practical nurse at Hacienda HealthCare and "was responsible for providing care" to the woman around the time she became pregnant. "This is a facility that you should be safe in and someone wasn't," Mayor Thelda Williams said at a news conference. The woman's family said in a statement through their lawyer that they were aware of Sutherland's arrest but did not "wish to comment any further on this matter." Nathan Sutherland Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Thompson said Sutherland had been employed at Hacienda since about 2011. In a statement Wednesday, the care center said that Sutherland was fired when they learned he had been arrested. "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 facility said. "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 arrest comes after a 29-year-old woman gave birth on Dec. 29 to a boy at Hacienda HealthCare, a long-term care center in Phoenix where she has been a patient for about 10 years. In a statement Tuesday, the woman’s family said she is “not in a coma” but does have “significant intellectual disabilities” stemming from seizures she suffered early in her childhood. "She does not speak but has some ability to move her limbs, head and neck,” the family said through their attorney. “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." Police Chief Jeri Williams said officers were made aware of the pregnancy on Dec. 29 when they received a 911 call about a baby in distress. Given the woman's condition, police began investigating the incident as a sexual assault. Thompson said during the investigation DNA samples from numerous male employees at the facility were requested and matched to DNA from the baby. One of the samples collected came from Sutherland. On Tuesday, the police department's crime lab learned that Sutherland's DNA matched the baby's and he was taken into custody, police said. Thompson told reporters that the baby "is doing good." The woman’s caregivers were reportedly unaware she was pregnant until she went into labor. Hacienda HealthCare said Wednesday that it has "increased security measures to ensure the safety of all our patients." "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 company said. The pregnancy led to one of the woman's physicians being suspended and another resigning. The facility's CEO, Bill Timmons, also resigned on Jan. 7.