Gay New Jersey detective says supervisor groped him — and bosses did nothing

A gay detective said supervisors in the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office failed to act after a supervisor allegedly groped him at work.

Detective Russell Kingsland of the Division of Criminal Justice is seeking $1.5 million in a lawsuit alleging he suffered years of workplace harassment, including pressure from supervisors to come out to his colleagues and family, according to NJ.com.

He also accused one of those supervisors of sexually assaulting him at work. Kingsland said in his claim that the supervisor came up behind him, pressed his body against him at a Trenton justice complex, moved his hand toward Kingsland’s crotch and asked, “Are you getting an erection?”

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Kingsland alleged the same supervisor later screamed homophobic slurs at him at a Fort Dix indoor firing range, challenged him “to go outside” and blocked him from leaving while armed.

Patrick Toscano, an attorney for Kingsland, said the detective reported the alleged harassment through the proper chain of command, but a deputy attorney general failed to handle his complaints properly. Toscano said that failing to address the complaints violated state and federal whistleblower protections.

“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. Attorney General Jennifer Davenport’s office declined to comment to NJ.com, citing pending litigation.

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Kingsland’s LinkedIn page says he has worked for the Attorney General’s Office since 2016 as a detective in the Division of Criminal Justice. He filed an internal affairs complaint detailing his allegations in August 2024, but said the situation did not change.

Kingsland said internal affairs suspended him and confiscated his duty-issued firearm when he was reassigned in 2025. More than a year later, he remains suspended. His attorneys said the suspension came only after supervisors learned he was documenting instances of harassment, which he began doing after the gun range incident.

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His complaint also alleged that two supervisors confronted him in 2022 about rumors that he was gay. One asked, “Do you find me attractive?” Another asked how he intended to tell his father. Kingsland said one of the supervisors subsequently brought up his sexuality repeatedly at work.

The allegedly hostile work environment prompted Kingsland to request a transfer from the Whippany office, but an administrator told him that he “does not get to pick where he goes.” Although officials transferred him to another unit, he remained in the same office.