As the founder of the prison reentry nonprofit Hope for Prisoners defends against criminal allegations that he used his power to exploit and sexually abuse inmates, one of his accusers has filed a federal lawsuit against him, the organization and the Nevada Department of Corrections.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court by a person identified only as RS, accuses Jon Ponder of grooming her and committing sexual abuse and battery inside the Jean Conservation Camp and at Hope for Prisoners’ offices in Las Vegas. The alleged victim also reported that the abuse continued after her release, the complaint said.

“Ponder used that delegated authority as a tool to sexually exploit the women placed under it, repeatedly and over a period of years,” the lawsuit alleges. “He targeted women whose freedom, families, and futures he could influence, many of them mothers desperate to see their children. He isolated them where no camera or officer could see.…