Phoenix Police, Mayor Announce Hacienda Healthcare Arrest

Phoenix police have made an arrest in the sexual assault of a patient at a Hacienda Healthcare.

In a press conference Wednesday, January 23, 2019, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams along with Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams announced that 36-year-old Nathan Sutherland, a licensed practical nurse who was caring for the woman at the Hacienda HealthCare facility, has been arrested and is being booked on preliminary charges of sexual assault and vulnerable-adult abuse.

The arrest is the latest chapter in a weekslong investigation that started when the 29-year-old woman -- who is not able to give consent and has been at the facility since 2002 -- gave birth in late December to the surprise of her family and caregivers.

The woman is a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and has long been in a vegetative state, the tribe’s chairman said Tuesday.

San Carlos Apache Tribe chairman Terry Rambler called for justice.

“When you have a loved one committed to palliative care, when they are most vulnerable and dependent upon others, you trust their caretakers,” he said Tuesday. “Sadly, one of her caretakers was not to be trusted and took advantage of her.”

The woman has been a patient at the facility since 1992, according to court records.

It was reported that she had been at the facility for at least a decade following a near-drowning incident.