In lawsuit, Durham Rescue Mission worker accused of sexual assault
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A lawsuit filed in Durham County accuses a former shelter employee of repeatedly sexually assaulting a resident.
According to our newsgathering partners at the News and Observer, the lawsuit filed in April names a former Durham Rescue Mission volunteer coordinator as the alleged abuser.
The anonymous plaintiff says the abuse happened four or five times a week, sometimes multiple times a day, between April 2023 and February 2024.
The filing says that the alleged suspect used the plaintiff's housing as leverage, threatening him with removal from the shelter if he didn't comply.
The plaintiff said he eventually recorded the abuse and reported it to administrators.
The former employee was fired, but according to the lawsuit, was allowed to stay in shelter-provided housing for another month and was later hired by another Durham nonprofit.
The lawsuit also alleges that Rescue Mission staffers discouraged the plaintiff from going to the police and told him he may not be able to stay at the Mission if he did.
In a statement, Durham Rescue Mission development director Adam Todd said the organization takes the allegations seriously and terminated the accused worker the same day the incident was reported.
