The former nurse accused of raping an impregnating an incapacitated patient in Arizona will fight a court-ordered STD and HIV test, according to his lawyers on Tuesday.
Nathan Sutherland’s lawyer, Edward Molina, asked Maricopa County Superior Judge Roger Hartsell to schedule a hearing concerning the court order.
It was originally ruled that the results be made available to the nurse’s alleged victim.
Molina argued that the testing would violate the 36-year-old’s constitution rights and pondered whether it would be easier for the victim to take the test as she is currently at a long-term care facility.
The lawyer added that since the victim gave birth in December, she has likely already been tested for STDs.
Molina referred to the request as a ‘fishing expedition’ in February.
‘They want to test him for HIV and I don’t know why they don’t just test the person they believe has it,’ he said.
A hearing on the blood test matter was scheduled for March 26. A complex case management hearing is set for May 21.
On February 5, Sutherland pleaded not guilty in an Arizona court.
Nathan Sutherland was arrested in January after DNA evidence linked him to the victim’s child.
The defendant, a licensed practical nurse who began working at the Hacienda Healthcare in Phoenix in 2012, was charged with one count each of sexual assault and abuse of a vulnerable adult.
Police started investigating after the 29-year-old woman, who they say was not in a position to give consent, unexpectedly gave birth on December 29. The patient had been at the facility since she was three.
The shock delivery prompted authorities to test the DNA of all the men who worked at the care facility.
Sutherland, a devout Christian and father-of-four, was forced to submit his DNA sample under court order.
