Landlord evicted tenants who refused to have sex with him in Ohio, feds say

For at least 11 years, an Ohio landlord was sexually harassing his female tenants, authorities said.

His harassment included entering homes without permission, touching his tenants and offering to waive rent in exchange for sexual activity, according to a Sept. 6 news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

In some cases, officials said he “initiated evictions or threatened to evict tenants who refused his sexual advances.”

Now, the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the Youngstown landlord, and an LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, records show. The man owned and managed residential rental properties through the LLC.

The landlord and LLC do not have a defense attorney listed in public court records as of Sept. 7 and could not be reached for comment by McClatchy News.

The man is accused of harassing and discriminating against female tenants from at least 2009 until 2020 in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Over the years, authorities said the landlord:

• Offered reduced rent, or excused unpaid rent payments, in exchange for sexual activity.
• Offered maintenance repairs to those who engaged in sexual contact with him.
• Touched women’s breasts and buttocks without permission.
• Made unwelcome sexual advances and comments to his tenants.
• Entered female renters’ homes without permission “and with no apparent legitimate reason.”
• Initiated or threatened to evict those who turned down his sexual advances.

“No tenant should have to endure sexual propositions, sexual comments or unwelcome physical contact from their landlord,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in the release. “Sexual harassment in housing is wrong, immoral and illegal.”

In one example from around 2012, authorities said the man “repeatedly made unwelcome propositions for sex to a tenant while she was cleaning rental units to pay her rent.”

“He also touched her without her permission, including on her breasts and buttocks,” according to the lawsuit. “He came to her home, where he attempted to pull away a blanket with which she had covered herself to answer the door, and he stated that she could pay her rent with sex.”

The woman refused, authorities said, adding that she did a week of work for him to cover her rent.

After she refused having sex with him, the landlord evicted her by changing the locks, according to the lawsuit. Her family lost their possessions.

Years earlier, in 2009 and 2010, the landlord made multiple sexual comments to another tenant, the lawsuit states.

When the renter asked him to stop, he billed her for water even though he was responsible for the water bill, according to federal authorities. She didn’t pay the bill, and the landlord then sued her for eviction, officials said.

“Too often tenants with limited housing options are preyed upon by landlords, maintenance staff and others who have control over where they live,” U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko said in the release.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial, a court order that bans future discrimination, monetary damages for those who were harassed and civil penalties against the defendants.

Youngstown is about 75 miles southeast of Cleveland.

This story was originally published September 7, 2023 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Landlord evicted tenants who refused to have sex with him in Ohio, feds say."