Ex-Durham Rescue Mission employee accused of months-long sexual abuse, lawsuit says
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- A former shelter volunteer coordinator allegedly assaulted a resident for nearly a year.
- Leonard Sutherland was dismissed but allegedly remained in Mission housing for months.
- The suit seeks over $25,000 from Sutherland and over $50,000 from the Rescue Mission.
A former Durham Rescue Mission employee allegedly sexually assaulted a shelter resident for nearly a year as the shelter remained negligent in the abuse, according to a lawsuit filed last month.
In a filing with Durham County Superior Court in April, an anonymous plaintiff referred to only as “John Doe” accuses former volunteer coordinator Leonard Eugene Sutherland of unwanted groping and kissing that allegedly occurred four or five times a week and “sometimes multiple times per day” between April 2023 and February 2024.
The lawsuit, filed by the Lanier Law Group and first reported by the INDY, states Sutherland was fired after the plaintiff reported the abuse to administrators. But Sutherland was allegedly allowed to remain in his housing provided by the Rescue Mission for an additional month and was later hired by another nonprofit in Durham working with people experiencing homelessness, according to the filing.
When the plaintiff asked whether administrators had reported Sutherland’s alleged abuse or the reasons for his termination to his new employer, they allegedly said the organization was trying to “keep that out of the spotlight,” the lawsuit states.
“While Plaintiff has maintained his sobriety through this process, the emotional and psychological stress of Defendant Sutherland’s continuous abuse and its aftermath have left Plaintiff forever changed,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiff is now seeking over $75,000 in damages from Sutherland and from Rescue Mission Inc. and its affiliated nonprofit Rescue Legacy Fund, as well as a trial to probe the incidents.
“As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant Rescue Fund and/or Defendant Rescue Mission acting and/or failing to act, by and through its employees, agents and/or representatives, Plaintiff was sexually assaulted and harassed and suffered physical, mental and emotional injuries while present and working at the Durham Rescue Mission,” the lawsuit states.
In April, Sutherland’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the case or to proceed with the plaintiff’s actual name, according to court records. A Durham County judge will consider that motion at a hearing later this month.
Rescue Mission terminated employee, administrator says
In a statement Tuesday, Durham Rescue Mission Development Director Adam Todd said the mission has received the lawsuit and is taking the allegations “very seriously.” He said the mission “immediately addressed” the alleged incident when it was first reported to administrators and terminated Sutherland that same day.
“We maintain rigorous policies concerning appropriate conduct and require all staff to complete anti-harassment training to promote a safe and respectful environment,” he wrote.
Todd declined to comment further on the allegations due to the ongoing litigation.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Sutherland began working at the Rescue Mission in December 2019. His profile states he started working as a “counselor” in Virginia in February 2024.
Sutherland does not appear to have been criminally charged, according to state court records.
‘Constant, pervasive, and continuous,’ lawsuit alleges
The Durham Rescue Mission — part of a national Christian-based nonprofit — offers emergency, transition and permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness. The shelter assigns residents “chores” in exchange for residents’ access to shelter, clothing and food, according to the filing.
The lawsuit states the plaintiff was homeless and struggling with alcohol addiction when he came to the Rescue Mission around April 2023 and began working for Sutherland in the volunteer office. The plaintiff was first assaulted by Sutherland within “one to two weeks” of his first day with the office, the lawsuit states.
“This abuse was constant, pervasive, and continuous throughout the rest of Plaintiffs time at the Durham Rescue Mission both as a resident, and later, as a temporary employee and/or contractor of the organization,” the lawsuit states.
The first time Sutherland allegedly assaulted the plaintiff, he groped the plaintiff’s leg near his groin, according to the lawsuit. When the plaintiff told him to stop, Sutherland allegedly told him the plaintiff could be kicked out of the program and removed from the mission if he didn’t listen to Sutherland.
“Plaintiff, desperate to keep his only resource for housing and other necessities of life, felt that he had no other option than to comply with Defendant Sutherland’s advances,” the lawsuit states.
That alleged abuse quickly escalated, the filing states, with Sutherland “sticking his hand down Plaintiff’s pants and fondling Plaintiff’s genitals on multiple occasions.”
The lawsuit states the plaintiff “surreptitiously filmed” Sutherland during two instances of the alleged abuse around February 2024, because he felt without concrete evidence, administrators wouldn’t believe his claims. The plaintiff took that information to Rescue Mission administrators soon after, according to the filing, and Sutherland was “eventually dismissed.”
But in a meeting with the Rescue Mission’s human resources department, the lawsuit states the plaintiff was allegedly discouraged from reporting the abuse to police and told he “may not be able to stay at the mission if he went to the police.”
“While Plaintiff was a temporary employee at this time, he was still reliant on the organization for his housing and other necessities,” the lawsuit states. “Again, Plaintiff felt he had no other choice but to remain silent and did not report the abuse to the police.”
After reporting the alleged abuse, the plaintiff learned from other members of the Rescue Mission that there had been previous allegations made by “other residents and/or employees” of similar instances of “misconduct, the lawsuit states.
“Sutherland received no adverse consequences,” the lawsuit said of the other incidents.
Now, the plaintiff is seeking more than $25,000 from Sutherland in damages for the alleged assault, with the lawsuit stating the plaintiff has suffered “physical, mental and emotional injuries, loss of enjoyment of life and other damages.”
The plaintiff is seeking more than $50,000 from the Rescue Mission for alleged negligence in the abuse, claiming the organization allegedly failed to support the plaintiff in reporting the abuse to police, failed to immediately separate Sutherland from residents and staff at the Rescue Mission and failed to train its employees on the protocols for preventing sexual assault and harassment in the workplace.
The plaintiff also “has incurred medical and other expenses, including but in no way limited to, lost wages,” the filing states.
Motion to dismiss or to proceed with plaintiff’s name
Sutherland on April 21 filed a motion to dismiss the case, or to proceed with the case if the plaintiff identifies himself, arguing there had been no authorization for the plaintiff to proceed anonymously and that the pseudonym harms the defense’s ability to counter the allegations.
“The use of pseudonym in this context violates the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure and substantially prejudices Defendant’s ability to investigate the claims, prepare defense, and assert compulsory counterclaims,” the filing states.
In the filing, Daron Satterfield — an attorney representing Sutherland — argues that the plaintiff’s anonymity would prevent Sutherland from determining whether he knew the plaintiff, identify witnesses or probe allegations made by the plaintiff in the past.
“Plaintiff seeks to litigate serious allegations while shielding his identity entirely, effectively using anonymity as both sword and shield,” Satterfield wrote.
In North Carolina, it’s possible for survivors of sexual assault to remain anonymous in litigation with permission from the court. But there is precedent for judges rejecting arguments for anonymity due to a lack of “extraordinary circumstances.”
A hearing to consider Sutherland’s motion to dismiss will be held in Durham County court on May 18.
This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Ex-Durham Rescue Mission employee accused of months-long sexual abuse, lawsuit says."
