SAN DIEGO — A lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court this month alleges sexual abuse and other misconduct by staff of Urban Street Angels, a San Diego nonprofit that works with homeless youth.
The 27-page civil complaint by former Urban Street Angels, Inc., Sunney Rey, alleges the executive director and other supervisors at the non-profit allowed drugs, labor violations, sexual harassment of youth, and gender inequality.
The lawsuit names several employees of Urban Street Angels including its Chief Executive Officer Eric Lovett, and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Ledgard.
Kelly DuFord represents Sunney Rey, who started volunteering in 2016 at the Mission Gathering Church and became an employee and supervisor at Urban Street Angles, Inc.
“It is terrifying to say the least. It gives me chills. At first glance you think, how could this be true,” said DuFord.
Rey alleges the CFO asked about her sex life, and she was overworked without compensation. When alleged sexual misconduct between supervisors and youth and drugs surfaced, Rey claims she complained and suggested new policies.
In the lawsuit, Rey also alleges misconduct by Lovett including him yelling at the plaintiff using obscenities when she asked about the food budget for a program she oversaw.
“It is shocking to me that this went on for so long and nothing wad done about it, and nothing came to light,” said DuFord.
Rey also claims she was left out of male trips, and when she did go to a Baja California wine tour, there was drug use. On the same trip, the lawsuit claims Lovett purchased alcohol for underage employees who returned to work the night shift at Urban Street Angels while under the influence and says the CEO was under the influence himself while transporting employees.
“Lovett had been drinking at every winery the group visited, drove the van back across the border under the influence, and knew that the van contained drugs,” the complaint reads in part.
The lawsuit also claims Lovett asked a youth to go to a gay strip club.
In a phone interview with News 8, Lovett said “all those claims are entirely false. There is no merit to those. The number one priority is the safety of our youth and how we serve our youth. That has always been our priority and remains our priority.”
It was also a priority to Rey, who is a single mother and was forced to resign in July of this year, according to the complaint.
Among some of the most damning of Rey’s allegations are accusations of inappropriate touching of a minor by Urban Street Angel project manager Matthew Wood and inappropriate relations between staff and youths.
Court documents say Wood was accused by a youth in the nonprofit facility of grabbing her leg while giving her a driving lesson in his personal car.
The complaint also alleges that Rey reported to Lovett and CFO Kevin Ledgard “well-founded allegations” that a residential assistant employed by Urban Street Angels was “sleeping with certain youths in the program” and using illegal drugs in the workplace.
The lawsuit states that Rey’s concerns were met with “pushback” from Lovett who claimed there was "no way" the residential assistant was sleeping with a female youth and that the RA was gay.
“At the end of the day, she same forward because she felt it might help somebody,” said DuFord.
The founder of Urban Street Angles in a statement to News 8 said:
“Urban Street Angels denies all allegations and wrongdoing and will vigorously defend itself in the litigation”
Urban Street Angels was found in 2012, according to its website, with a mission to “end youth homelessness in the San Diego area.” The group operates an overnight shelter for homeless youth twice a week as well as a short-term housing program both serving “transitional-age youth” - defined as being 18 to 25 years old.
The allegations listed in the lawsuit include 13 complaints in total. The full complaint can be viewed below.