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Former Arizona Nurse Charged With Raping Patient Appeals HIV Test Order

Nathan Sutherland
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
/
handout | agency
Nathan Sutherland

The former nurse charged with raping an incapacitated woman at a Phoenix care facility who later gave birth is appealing a court order requiring that he be tested for HIV. 

Nathan Sutherland’s attorney said the order should be overturned because there is no evidence to suggest his client has a sexually transmitted disease. 

Attorney Edwin Molina filed the appeal last week, arguing that such a test would violate Sutherland's constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. 

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

Sutherland has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual abuse and abuse of a vulnerable adult. 

KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.