A nurse who was fired for authorizing the use of pepper spray on a naked patient at Riverview Psychiatric Center, and who also is charged with harming his infant son, has agreed to place his nursing license on inactive status.

The consent agreement changing the license status of registered nurse William Goodhue Lord Jr., 40, of Readfield became effective in late August, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by the Kennebec Journal through a public records request.

He was first licensed in Maine as a registered nurse in August 2010.

According to the consent agreement, the state Board of Nursing initiated a complaint in April 2014 against Lord after receiving “an investigative report from the Department of Health and Human Services substantiating an allegation of patient abuse as well as inappropriate utilization of restraints while licensee was employed at Riverview Psychiatric Center.”

Lord responded to the complaint in June, saying “he followed Riverview procedure and protocol to the best of his ability,” the agreement states, and the matter was set for an informal conference.

Before that happened, the board learned from a Kennebec Journal story that Lord had been arrested in October 2014 on a charge of assault and endangering the welfare of a child, as well as other charges, and filed a second complaint against Lord, according to the agreement.

Lord at that point “deferred to his legal counsel,” and it appeared to lead to the consent agreement that resulted in his license becoming inactive.

Lord is scheduled for a jury trial on charges of aggravated assault, domestic violence assault, domestic violence terrorizing and marijuana cultivation, all stemming from the incident on Oct. 19, 2014. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and is scheduled for trial Oct. 26 to 28. Lord’s defense attorney is Kevin Sullivan.

Lord is accused of tossing his 3-month-old son down a flight of stairs at his Wayne home during the early morning hours. Police said the child was in an infant seat but not strapped in and landed face-down, suffering a skull fracture.

Ericka Melanson, the baby’s mother, told police the boy was not breathing initially but began to do so when she picked him up.

Melanson also told authorities that Lord was intoxicated at the time and had been drinking heavily because he was depressed about losing his job.

She took the child to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for treatment, and police obtained a warrant to arrest Lord.

The child, Preston Lord, is named as the victim in all the charges except the count of terrorizing, which alleges that Lord threatened to kill Melanson, now 22.

Lord was freed on $5,000 bail Nov. 29, but was arrested again April 12 after police conducted a bail check and reported finding that he had just returned from a month-long stay in Connecticut and had a 12-pack of Samuel Adams beer, including one open bottle, in his car.

Conditions of probation required him to notify the court of a change of address and prohibited him from possessing alcohol. A judge ordered him held without bail.

The consent agreement places Lord’s nursing license on inactive status until no later than Feb. 18, 2018, and says Lord “agrees and understands that he will not work or volunteer in any capacity for a health care provider or in any position holding himself out as a registered professional nurse.”

A state investigation into the hospital incident concluded that a state corrections officer sprayed Arlene Edson – who identified herself as the patient involved – with pepper spray on Dec. 2, 2013, while she was alone in her room and not threatening anyone.

The hospital reported the incident to state regulators on Feb. 27, 2014, about three months after it had occurred.

Lord was the only staff member fired in connection with the incident.