Ex-Arizona nurse pleads guilty to sexually assaulting an incapacitated patient who later gave birth

• A former nurse in Arizona pleaded guilty on Thursday to sexually assaulting an incapacitated patient.
• Nathan Sutherland pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and one count of abuse of a vulnerable adult.
• The patient, whose lawyer described her as "significantly cognitively disabled," gave birth in 2019.

A former Arizona nurse has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a cognitively impaired patient in 2018, court records show.

Nathan Sutherland pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of sexual assault and one count of abuse of a vulnerable adult.

The Hacienda HealthCare Skilled Nursing Facility in Phoenix made national headlines in 2019 after the patient, whose lawyer described her as "significantly cognitively disabled," gave birth.

The nurse initially pleaded not guilty to sexual assault when he appeared in court in 2019, despite the fact that a DNA sample confirmed he was the father of the victim's child.

Police noted in 2019 that it may be impossible to know how many times the patient was sexually assaulted. They also said at the time that the baby was healthy and had been carried to full term.

The patient, who was 29 at the time she gave birth, had been treated at the facility for more than 20 years. She had developed seizures during her infancy and was diagnosed with idiopathic encephalopathy with psychomotor retardation and cortical blindness, Insider's Ashley Collman previously reported.

A 2019 court filing said that although the patient is nonverbal, she can still make some sounds and turn her head towards "auditory stimuli." One doctor previously told the patient's lawyers that she likely knew her abuser, and recognized his voice or odor when he entered her room, but was unable to call for help.

In February 2019, the facility announced it was shutting down its operations. The facility served babies, children, and young adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities requiring significant medical care, according to the Associated Press.

Two of the doctors responsible for caring for the patient who gave birth also left the facility shortly after the news broke in January 2019. One resigned, while the other was suspended.