New Jersey detective Russell Kingsland claims he suffered years of anti-gay harassment while working for the Office of the Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice, including sexual assault, retaliation, and being “outed” to co-workers — treatment he says destroyed his law enforcement career.
Kingsland plans to sue the office for $1.5 million, alleging that the treatment caused post-traumatic stress disorder that has hampered his ability to work.
“I have experienced severe psychological trauma along with compounding substance use disorder from these events, and it was recommended by a doctor that I not return to work as a police officer due to this,” the 33-year-old detective said in a notice of tort claim filed on August 25.
Kingsland, who has worked for the Attorney General’s Office since May 2016, claims two supervisors approached him in November 2022 about rumors regarding his sexuality, forcing him to disclose to co-workers and family that he is gay.
“Do you find me attractive?” one of the supervisors allegedly asked Kingsland, according to the claim.
“What are you going to tell your father?” asked another supervisor.
The detective also claims that one of his supervisors repeatedly brought up his sexuality despite his discomfort discussing it.
Kingsland claims that on January 19, 2023, one of his supervisors came up behind him at the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton and sexually assaulted him by pressing against him, moving a hand into his genital area, and whispering, “Are you getting an erection?”
He says he immediately told the deputy attorney general about the alleged assault, and she advised him to call police or contact internal affairs. He did neither because he feared “further exposure of his sexuality and retaliation.”
Kingsland’s attorney, Patrick Toscano, alleges that the deputy attorney general violated state and federal whistleblower laws by failing to report the incident.
“Once the incident is reported, it has to be reported straight up the chain of command. It’s the law and everybody knows this,” Toscano said.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office declined to comment to NJ.com on Toscano’s allegations, citing a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
The supervisor who allegedly sexually assaulted Kingsland later cornered him at an indoor firing range at Fort Dix, screaming homophobic slurs and challenging him “to go outside,” according to the notice of tort claim. The supervisor allegedly blocked his exit while wearing a firearm, causing Kingsland to fear for his life.
Following that encounter, Kingsland began documenting all incidents of harassment. Throughout 2023 and 2024, the detective claims he was excluded from meetings, undercover operations, radio communications, casework, and other activities.
In mid-2024, Kingsland told members of the executive staff that he was gay, described the harassment, and asked to be transferred from the office’s Whippany location. But an administrator allegedly told him that he “does not get to pick where he goes.” He was transferred to a general crimes unit but “remained in the same hostile work location,” according to his claim.
On August 14, 2024, Kingsland submitted a complaint to internal affairs and sat for an interview, detailing the harassment he had experienced. But the harassment and adverse treatment continued, he says.
On May 28, 2025, the department’s internal affairs office removed him from duty and took his firearm, describing the action as a “reassignment” — a move Kingsland and his lawyers say was retaliation for documenting the alleged harassment.
“He was documenting so he could submit [the alleged incidents] up the chain of command,” Toscano said. “As soon as he started doing that, and they saw it, that’s when they suspended him.” The attorney says Kingsland remains suspended and the agency is seeking to fire him.
Bishop O'Dowd High School, a 75-year-old Catholic college-preparatory school in East Oakland, California, has adopted a new rainbow logo after the Diocese of Oakland forced it to remove LGBTQ Pride flags from classrooms before the start of the school year.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland asked O'Dowd administrators last winter to remove the school's rainbow and transgender Pride flags, an employee told The Oaklandside. The flags were taken down on June 1, 2026 without any formal communication to students or families, although staff marked their removal with a ceremony, according to the employee. At least one of the flags had hung in a classroom for more than 30 years.
A gay couple that is owed more than $560,000 in damages and legal costs after being denied a marriage license by former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has filed a new lawsuit alleging that she transferred inherited property to family members to avoid paying the judgment.
David Ermold and David Moore were turned away by Davis's office when they attempted to obtain a marriage license in 2015. In 2023, a federal jury found that Davis had violated their constitutional rights and awarded them $100,000 in damages.
Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an anti-human trafficking bill into law that contains provisions repealing parts of an existing state law that allowed people with HIV to be charged with enhanced criminal penalties if they engaged in prostitution and did not disclose their status to clients.
Previously, people living with HIV could face harsher penalties than people without HIV for engaging in the same illicit activity. For example, a person without HIV who was charged with prostitution would face only a misdemeanor, while a person with HIV who engaged in the same behavior could be charged with a felony.
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