Utah nurse sentenced to prison

A Utah nurse who spread hepatitis among her patients by using dirty needles on them will spend five years in prison.

U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber says the choices made by former nurse Elet Neilson are symptoms of a larger problem in the state.

Neilson was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court for her actions while serving as a nurse at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden in 2014.

Neilson admitted to taking painkillers prescribed to her patients, then injecting them with the dirty needles, spreading hepatitis C.

Neilson avoided the maximum sentence of seven and a half years in prison.

Huber says the Neilson case shows the effects that drug addiction can have on innocents who interact with the addict.