A lawsuit filed earlier this month against the Durham Rescue Mission and the nonprofit’s former volunteer coordinator, Lenny Sutherland, alleges Sutherland committed repeated acts of sexual assault between April 2023 and February 2024.
The civil suit, filed by the Lanier Law group on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff, accuses Sutherland of unwanted groping, kissing, and fondling “four to five days a week, sometimes multiple times a day.”
Sutherland also threatened to remove the plaintiff from the Mission if he reported the assault, Lisa Lanier, president of the Lanier Law Group, said: “He felt really incapable of getting away from him, because he was able to hold the housing and the services and the position that he had at the Durham Rescue Mission over our clients’ head.”
Lanier said that her client surreptitiously filmed an assault by Sutherland, and that Sutherland was ultimately fired around February 2024 after the plaintiff showed the video to Mission leadership. The suit alleges that Mission leadership told the plaintiff that if he took video evidence to police, he could lose his spot at the Mission.
The suit alleges that the Mission was negligent in monitoring the safety of its clients and acting on allegations of sexual misconduct, and that it continued to provide housing to Sutherland even after his termination. It seeks minimum damages of $25,000.
Lanier told INDY that while her client could still pursue criminal charges against Sutherland, a civil suit was the clearest route to holding the Mission accountable. Her client was dependent on the nonprofit, which provides rehabilitation services and shelter at multiple locations in Durham, for his housing and employment.
“The plaintiff was discouraged from reporting these instances of abuse to the police and was told that he may not be able to stay at the mission if he went to the police,” the lawsuit states. He ultimately left the Mission in November 2025, two and a half years after his April 2023 arrival, according to the suit.
“We are aware of a lawsuit filed by a former Durham Rescue Mission client that includes allegations of a serious nature involving a former staff member, who originally came to us as a client,” the Mission said in a statement to INDY on April 15. “We take these allegations very seriously … When the alleged incident was first brought to our attention, we immediately addressed it in accordance with our policies, and the individual was terminated from our organization that same day.”
“Because this matter is the subject of ongoing litigation, we cannot comment further at this time,” it continued, without addressing a detailed set of questions about the suit.
The Durham Rescue Mission is a sprawling enterprise with over $60 million in assets spread across its shelters, thrift stores, properties, and investments. Guided by the philosophy that there is always “one more bed,” the Mission typically houses over 450 people, with this capacity rising to nearly 600 during extreme weather and power outages. A 2024 investigation by The Assembly found a number of allegations of labor abuse from former residents, whom the Mission refers to as “guests.” Incoming guests are required to give up outside employment in exchange for housing and full-time work in its facilities compensated with a “benevolence” that starts at just $5 a week.
When INDY reached Sutherland by phone on April 10, he said he had not yet been served a summons and was unable to comment. INDY sent Sutherland a copy of the lawsuit, and attempted to review it with Sutherland over the phone.
“I can not speak on anything until I get legal advice,” Sutherland said.
Three people told INDY, prior to their knowledge of the lawsuit, that they had heard that Sutherland had been fired after another resident provided videotaped evidence of sexual misconduct. Former Mission resident Will Caldwell said that he had previously complained about inappropriate sexual comments by Sutherland to Mission leadership, including President Rob Tart.
Caldwell said he believes that Sutherland had him kicked out of the Mission due to his complaints, though the stated reason was that Caldwell had missed church due to work commitments—absences Caldwell says had been previously approved.
“I worked for the Mission a little bit over two years, right?” Caldwell said. “And they can not tell me that they don’t put work in front of anything else.”
In a screenshot Caldwell provided to the INDY, another Mission resident told Caldwell by text message that Sutherland threatened to remove him from the Mission if he continued speaking with Caldwell.
“Sorry for blocking you, Lenny was threatening to have me kicked out if I kept talking to you,” the message reads. The author of the message confirmed their identity, and Sutherland’s threats, to the INDY. He asked not to be named in this piece.
After learning of Sutherland’s termination and the alleged video, Caldwell said he texted Tart.
“I tried telling yall bout him but nobody there believed me until something had to happen,” Caldwell wrote in a screenshot reviewed by INDY.
“Are you happy?” the phone number he identified as Tart’s responded.
“No more relieved that he can’t keep doing his crap and getting away with it,” Caldwell wrote.
“When I saw the evidence I acted,” he says Tart responded later.
The Durham Rescue Mission did not comment on the texts. Sutherland did not respond to emailed questions about Caldwell’s removal or the claim by the other resident who said Sutherland threatened to remove him.
According to his LinkedIn, Sutherland started as the Mission’s volunteer coordinator in 2019. Photos on Sutherland’s Facebook page show him performing a variety of duties for the Mission, including delivering sermons, traveling for fundraisers, celebrating birthdays, and working donation drives.
Sutherland later went on to work at Urban Ministries of Durham; he was working there when reached by phone on April 10.
“UMD is committed to maintaining a safe and trusted environment for the communities we serve,” an Urban Ministries spokesperson wrote in a statement five days later, adding that Sutherland is no longer an employee. They declined to answer further questions.
The lawsuit claims that multiple allegations of misconduct were raised about Sutherland in the year leading up to his termination from the Durham Rescue Mission, and encourages others with evidence to come forward.
“We want to uncover everything,” Lanier said. “We want to turn over every stone, and we want justice for the survivors.”
“You don’t end up at the Durham Rescue Mission because you were leading this powerful, successful life of independence in the outside world,” said Lanier. Her client remained there despite the abuse because he did not have other options.
He “was trapped,” Lanier said. “The alternative was, you know, being on the streets again and potentially getting back into alcohol.”
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