A civil lawsuit filed this month claims a former volunteer coordinator at the Durham Rescue Mission repeatedly sexually assaulted a resident while he lived at the shelter. The complaint alleges the misconduct ran from April 2023 through February 2024 and says the coordinator used his position to threaten eviction if the resident reported the abuse.
The civil complaint, filed on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff by the Lanier Law Group, alleges unwanted groping, kissing and fondling "four to five days a week, sometimes multiple times a day." Attorney Lisa Lanier, who represents the plaintiff, told INDY Week that her client secretly recorded one assault and felt "incapable of getting away" because the Mission controlled his housing and services.
According to reporting republished by The Assembly, the suit says the plaintiff showed the videotaped assault to Mission leadership and that the employee was fired around February 2024, although the complaint contends the nonprofit continued to provide him housing after termination. The suit also says the plaintiff left the Mission in November 2025 after arriving in April 2023. It seeks minimum damages of $25,000 and encourages others who may have evidence to come forward.
In a statement to INDY Week, the Durham Rescue Mission said it "takes these allegations very seriously" and that "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." Urban Ministries of Durham, where the former coordinator later worked, told reporters that he "is no longer an employee." The Mission added that it could not comment further because the matter is subject to ongoing litigation.
Background
The Durham Rescue Mission is a large faith-based shelter network with thrift stores and programs across the city. Reporting and filings place its assets above $60 million, and its typical housing capacity at more than 450 people, rising to nearly 600 during extreme weather or outages, according to local coverage. A 2024 investigation documented complaints from former residents about labor practices at the Mission, including rules that require guests to give up outside employment in exchange for housing and work compensated with a nominal "benevolence."
Legal context
The suit is a civil claim brought to hold the Mission accountable and to pursue damages. Lanier has said her client could still pursue criminal charges but chose a civil route as the clearest path to accountability. Civil litigation can prompt further law-enforcement review and obliges the nonprofit to answer the allegations in court, but as of this reporting no criminal charges related to these allegations have been publicly filed.
Lanier said her office wants to "turn over every stone" in the case and urged anyone with information or evidence to contact her firm. The Mission and Urban Ministries of Durham declined further comment beyond earlier statements, and local reporters say they will continue to monitor filings in the case.
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