A woman in a vegetative state who was raped and impregnated at a long-term care facility in Arizona may have been impregnated before, according to news reports.
Lawyers for the woman, who gave birth to a boy in December, have filed a $45 million notice of claim against the state, alleging she was raped repeatedly before giving birth, KTLA-TV reported. The action precedes a lawsuit and is seeking $25 million for the victim and $10 million each for her parents.
The claim cited medical records that said the woman had been "violently and repeatedly raped" while living at Hacienda Healthcare in Phoenix and that a doctor who examined her after the birth said she could have been pregnant before, KTLA reported.
Employees at the facility have said they had no idea she was pregnant, including her doctor, until she went into labor.
The 29-year-old victim had suffered a near-drowning when she was 3 years old and had been at the facility for at least a decade, according to KPHO-TV.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey confirmed his office had received a 55-page notice of claim that is now under review. The state health department wouldn't comment, according to KTLA, citing ongoing litigation.
A former male nurse at Hacienda Healthcare, Nathan Sunderland, 37, was charged with sexual assault after investigators were able to match his DNA with that of the baby.
The victim’s parents are caring for the infant.
Credit: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
Credit: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
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