PHOENIX — An Arizona woman in a vegetative state who had a baby after she was sexually assaulted at a long-term care facility is recovering at a hospital along with her child, authorities said Wednesday as they ramped up the search for a suspect in the case.
Commenting for the first time on the investigation since the Dec. 29 birth came to light, Phoenix police said they have not ruled out anyone and are still gathering DNA from all the facility’s male employees.
“She was not in a position to give consent to any of this,” police spokesman Tommy Thompson said. “So if anyone can understand that, this was a helpless victim who was sexually assaulted.” He didn’t release the conditions of the woman and her child.
The case has drawn outcry from the governor to the San Carlos Apache tribe in southeastern Arizona, of which the 29-year-old victim is an enrolled member, and put the spotlight on the safety of group homes and facilities that care for those who are incapacitated or severely disabled.
“Sadly, one of her caretakers was not to be trusted and took advantage of her. It is my hope that justice will be served,” said tribal chairman Terry Rambler.
Hacienda HealthCare owns the care facility and said it welcomed DNA testing of its male workers. Authorities served a search warrant Tuesday, a day after the provider’s CEO resigned. Thompson said police will get a court order if anyone declines to submit DNA.
A lawyer for the woman’s family said they were outraged at the “neglect of their daughter” and asked for privacy.
“The family would like me to convey that the baby boy has been born into a loving family and will be well cared for,” Phoenix attorney John Micheaels said in a written statement.
The Hacienda facility serves infants, children and young adults who are “medically fragile” or have developmental disabilities, its website says. It has multiple complaints going back to 2013, most for emergency preparation or Medicaid eligibility, according to the state’s online complaint database for care facilities.
But one complaint from December 2013 alleges a staffer made inappropriate sexual comments about four patients two months earlier. Nobody relayed the incidents to an administrator. That employee was later fired.
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