The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced on Aug. 5 that it filed a lawsuit against Venkatachalam Mani, a landlord in State College, Pennsylvania, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation against a female tenant in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
According to the announcement, the tenant filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after experiencing alleged sexual advances from Mani. HUD investigated and determined there was discrimination, issuing a charge before referring the matter to federal court at the tenant’s request. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for the tenant and her children, as well as an order barring future discrimination.
The suit alleges that Mani made unwanted sexual advances toward his tenant, sexually assaulted her after she rejected him, and then retaliated by repeatedly visiting her property uninvited and failing to complete required maintenance. It further claims that Mani refused to repair a furnace after his advances were declined, leaving the tenant without heat during freezing temperatures until she was forced to move out when the furnace caught fire.
“This lawsuit involves a landlord who failed to fix a tenant’s furnace despite freezing temperatures because she refused his sexual advances, forcing her family to move out even though they did not have another place to live,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This conduct is immoral and unlawful. The Justice Department will continue to uphold the rights of female tenants to housing without the threat of sexual harassment by a landlord.”
“Attempts to exploit tenants for sexual favors, sexual assault, and retaliation by landlords will never be tolerated in the Middle District of Pennsylvania,” said U.S. Attorney Brian D. Miller.
This case is part of an initiative launched by the Justice Department in October 2017 aimed at addressing sexual harassment in housing situations involving landlords or others with control over housing arrangements; since its launch, 53 lawsuits have been filed with approximately $19 million recovered for victims. The United States Attorney’s Office for this district operates under the United States Department of Justice across locations including Harrisburg, Scranton, Williamsport and Wilkes-Barre; it serves about 3.2 million residents over 21,907 square miles through federal crime prosecution, civil litigation on behalf of government agencies and victim assistance programs, according to its official website.