PHOENIX, Ariz. — 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.
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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.
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The victim’s parents are caring for the infant.