US Department of Justice Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Illinois Landlord for Sexually Harassing Tenants

 

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit on July 18, 2024 against Michael J. DeWitte, of Washington, Illinois, for sexually harassing female tenants and housing applicants in violation of the Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, alleges that, since at least 2002, DeWitte harassed female tenants and applicants with unwelcome sexual harassment including sexual contact and comments about their physical appearances; offers to strip for female tenants; removing his pants while giving a tour to a female housing applicant; exposing his genitals to female tenants; asking female tenants on dates; requesting sex in exchange for reduced rent or other housing benefits; and evicting female tenants when they did not give in to his sexual advances. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages to compensate those harmed by the alleged harassment, civil penalties to vindicate the public interest, and a court order barring future discrimination.

Anyone who believes that they may have been victims of sexual harassment or other types of housing discrimination at rental properties owned or managed by Michael DeWitte, or who have other information that may be relevant to this case, may contact the Justice Department by calling the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois at 309-671-7019 or 833-591-0291, and emailing USAILC.Civil.Rights@usdoj.gov or FairHousing.USAILC@usdoj.gov.

The Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative is run by the Civil Rights Division, in coordination with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. The initiative address es and raises awareness about sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, loan officers, and others who have control over housing. Since beginning the initiative in 2017, the department has filed 44 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered over $17 million for victims of such harassment. The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting people from sexual misconduct.

Read the July 18, 2024 DOJ release. 

HUD CHARGES OWNER AND PROPERTY MANAGER OF MISSOURI AREA RENTAL PROPERTIES WITH DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEX

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Second Bell Trust, owner of multiple single-family rental properties in the Springfield, Missouri area, and its agent and property manager, Jimmie Bell, with housing discrimination for allegedly subjecting a female tenant to sexual harassment, including requests for sexual favors in exchange for rent, unwanted touching, and discriminatory statements based on sex. Read the charge.

"Subjecting tenants to unwelcome sexual advances and sexual harassment is outrageous and a clear violation of the law," said Demetria L. McCain, HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "Today's charge sends a clear message to all landlords that HUD is committed to taking action against landlords whose behavior violates the Fair Housing Act."

HUD's charge, issued on behalf of the tenant and her children and nephew, alleges the property manager made repeated unwelcome sexual comments to the tenant and pressured her to provide sexual favors when she fell behind on rent payments. The charge further alleges he grabbed the tenant’s intimate areas. After enduring several years of sexual harassment from him, the tenant moved out.

HUD's charge will be heard by a U.S. Administrative Law Judge unless any party to the charge wants to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds after a hearing that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the complainant for harm caused by discrimination. The judge may also order injunctive relief and other equitable relief, payment of attorney fees, and civil fines. If the matter is decided in federal court, that judge may also award punitive damages.

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Read the September 1, 2023 HUD press release.

 Housing Discrimination in Georgia: 

Cartersville, Georgia Motel Manager Pleads Guilty to Coercing Labor and Sex Acts by Female Tenant

According to court documents, the 70 year-old manager of the Budgetel Motel hired her as a house cleaner, knowing that she had been homeless, struggled with heroin addiction, and lost child custody. He promised that he would help her regain custody of her child by providing her pay, an apartment, and an attorney. Instead, he monitored her interactions with motel guests and employees, forbade her from speaking to them, and made numerous sexual overtures. He threatened to evict her from the room and threatened to report her drug use to law enforcement or child welfare agencies. He regularly “evicted” her from her motel room, locked her out of her room at night without warning, and required her to perform oral sex on him to stay at the motel. If she did not, Tiwari removed her from the property, causing her to be homeless. 

Sentencing is set for September 6, and the man faces a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to pay just over $40,000 in restitution to his victims. 

A federal judge will determine any sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Read the June 1, 2023 USDOJ release.

August 8, 2019

Sexual Harassment Prevention in the Workplace Media coverage of recent high profile sexual harassment cases and the rise of the #metoo and #timesup movements has caused many organizations to question whether they are giving their employees all the correct information regarding preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights invites you to attend one of our interactive and informative workshops on Sexual Harassment Prevention in the Workplace. The training workshop will focus on sexual harassment laws, prevention, and employer liability. We will discuss types of sexual harassment, current statistics, case examples, common workplace scenarios, and best practices to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. This course is ideal for employers, managers, supervisors, human resource & employee relations staff as well as any employee. All attendees will receive a Certificate of Attendance at the end of the workshop. Workshop instructors include staff and attorneys from the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. Please note: These are free workshops. Please contact Director of Education & Outreach Tara Taylor at tara.taylor@maryland.gov or 410-767-6459 if you have any accommodation needs. Space is incredibly limited - register today to save your spot! Once full, any new registrations will be placed on a wait list. One person will not be permitted to register multiple attendees. Please make sure each attendee registers separately online. Check-in begins at 8:30am, and the class begins at 9:00am. Free parking is available at the training locations.

Join Us At One Of Our Bi-Monthly Workshops Friday, September 6, 2019 9:00am - 1:00pm Maryland Public Television 11767 Owings Mills Boulevard Owings Mills, Maryland 21117 REGISTER HERE Wednesday, November 13, 2019 9:00am - 1:00pm Anne Arundel Community College 101 College Parkway Cade Fine Arts Center, Room 215 Arnold, Maryland 21012 REGISTER HERE Thank you to Maryland Public Television and Anne Arundel Community College for hosting these workshops!

Victim of Discrimination? Training & Partnerships

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