The trial of a man accused of sexually assaulting an incapacitated patient and fathering her child while she was in his care at Hacienda Healthcare, a Phoenix long-term care center, has been pushed back until April 30.
A judge Tuesday granted a continuance but says he won’t postpone the trial again. It was scheduled to begin next week.
The attorney for Nathan Sutherland says a possible plea agreement is in the works.
The 37-year-old Sutherland was a licensed practical nurse. He’s accused of sexually assaulting the woman and cared for her on hundreds of occasions from 2012 through 2018, despite promises from state employees that only women would tend to her. The pregnancy was discovered in December 2018 only after a nurse saw the baby being born in a surprise delivery.
