Philly police bench detective accused of sexually assaulting a homicide victim’s mother

A Philadelphia homicide detective who was assigned to investigate the 2020 fatal shooting of a man in North Philadelphia took advantage of that position to groom and sexually assault the victim’s mother, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court last month.

The detective, Donald Suchinsky, 57, was placed on restricted duty in 2021, a Police Department spokesperson confirmed — and the results of an Internal Affairs investigation were turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for possible prosecution. A spokesperson for the DA’s Office said it could not comment on or confirm criminal investigations prior to an arrest.

In the lawsuit, filed anonymously under the initials L.S., the woman alleged that what she experienced was part of a pattern of sexual misconduct that targeted victims and witnesses in order to take advantage of their desire for justice and Suchinsky’s unique position of power.

Suchinsky did not respond to requests for comment. Corp. Jasmine Reilly, a police spokesperson, said the department could not comment on the case because it involves ongoing litigation.

The complaint was filed one month after another homicide detective, Philip Nordo, was sentenced to 24½ to 49 years in prison for rape and other offenses committed against people he encountered on the job. In that case, allegations that he sexually assaulted informants and suspects on and off Police Department property stretched back more than a decade before he was fired in 2017.

» READ MORE: Up to 49 years in prison for homicide detective convicted of sexually abusing witnesses

In the wake of that scandal, Homicide Unit supervisors said they had tightened supervision of detectives, and begun an effort to capture all of their encounters with civilians on body-worn cameras.

“All interviews conducted inside the Homicide Unit are audio and video recorded,” Reilly said in an email. “While detectives conduct the bulk of interviews and interrogations, the process is overseen by a supervisor outside of the interview room. In the event that interviews cannot be viewed by a homicide supervisor in real-time, interviews are reviewed periodically to ensure that appropriate steps were taken. In addition, the Homicide Unit has witness and family rooms in the new building which are able to be monitored by the unit supervisors.”

Joshua Van Naarden, the lawyer who filed the latest complaint, alleged that it was part of a larger pattern in the department, which has seen numerous allegations of sexual misconduct in recent years.

“We’re disturbed by the conduct of this detective who rose through the ranks to an elite squad within the Philadelphia Police Department,” he said, “and we’re also very concerned that his conduct was permitted to persist, as I understand our client is not the only one who fell victim to this detective.”

» READ MORE: Losing Conviction: Police misconduct in homicide cases may have fueled many wrongful convictions

Suchinsky, a Philadelphia police officer since 1989, has been the subject of six citizen complaints over his 34-year career, most of them decades old. (The department does not release details on those complaints.) He’s been disciplined only once, in 2002, for falsifying police records to make it appear he had rescued a person from a burning building. According to Internal Affairs documents obtained by the Police Transparency Project, that fabrication was revealed only after Suchinsky’s supervisor had submitted him for a heroism commendation.

In the federal lawsuit filed in January, the mother of the homicide victim said Suchinsky’s improper conduct began at their first meeting — a week after her son’s death — when Suchinsky asked her to send him a selfie. Though another homicide detective was present, that detective did not intervene, she alleged.

» READ MORE: Former Philly cop Carl Holmes’ sexual-assault case has been tossed out of court

The lawsuit states that Suchinsky began calling and emailing the woman multiple times a day, and that, less than two weeks after her son’s murder, Suchinsky invited L.S. to a meeting at Police Headquarters. There, he got into the passenger seat of her car, ostensibly to guide her to a visitor parking lot. As she drove, he allegedly groped and digitally penetrated her.

Suchinsky then frequently called the woman to proposition her for sex and personal photographs, the suit claims. It quotes from emails and texts that were “purposely cryptic.” In one, Suchinsky allegedly wrote, “You and i can get together but in a different setting other than work and we can relax and talk.” The lawsuit quotes him as writing another time, “Seriously I want to see you. Send me a pic.”

The woman broke off communication with Suchinsky four or five months after her son’s death, according to the lawsuit. The homicide remains unsolved.