Longtime Lexington landlord accused of sexually harassing tenant could face steep fine
A longtime Lexington landlord with dozens of properties in Fayette County has been charged with violating federal fair housing laws for sexual harassment of female tenants.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission has charged Joe Johnson with violating the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits sexual harassment of tenants, according to a Feb. 8 charging document.
A female tenant of Johnson’s said Johnson repeatedly made inappropriate and unwanted comments toward her since she started renting from Johnson in 2012. Johnson would repeatedly ask about her sex life and sexual partners.
In February 2019 ,the woman returned to her apartment and found Joe Johnson’s son, Jason Johnson, who worked in maintenance for his father, in her bed. When she asked Jason Johnson why he was in her bed, Jason Johnson allegedly replied: “I own this property, I can do whatever I want.”
The woman filed the complaint with the human rights commission in 2019, according to commission documents.
The Lexington Herald-Leader does not name victims of sexual harassment. The woman did not report the incident to the Lexington Police Department for fear of reprisal from the Johnsons and “she needed a place to live and did not want (Johnson) to kick her out,” according to commission documents.
The woman reported the incident involving Jason Johnson to Francin Johnson, Joe Johnson’s daughter, who also worked for her father at the time. Nothing was done, according to commission documents.
Joe Johnson told the commission he rarely spoke to the woman who made the complaint and the first time he was made aware of the allegations was when he was contacted by the commission, according to commission documents.
Joe Johnson declined to comment on the allegations.
Johnson owns 49 properties, many properties have multiple apartment units, according to commission documents. The commission sent letters and tried to contact those tenants. The commission heard back from 20 tenants.
Two anonymous tenants said they had experienced similar sexual harassment from Joe Johnson, according to commission documents.
One said Johnson grabbed her breast during one interaction. The same tenant said Jason Johnson had also made inappropriate comments to her as well.
Another anonymous tenant said Joe Johnson tried to grab her breast when she was in his office The woman said she filed a police report. The commission requested all police reports for Johnson’s office over five year through an Open Records Act request. There were five reports of harassment and intimidation at that address in that time frame. It was not clear from those reports if the woman’s allegations were included in those reports, according to commission documents.
A male tenant told the commission he has been without heat for three years and Johnson does not keep up his properties.
Other tenants adamantly denied Joe Johnson acted inappropriately toward female tenants but “the investigation also reveals that all of these witnesses who stated that (Johnson) would not act inappropriately toward his tenants also stated they would consider themselves friends with (Johnson).”
Ray Sexton, executive director of the human rights commission, said Johnson has until Feb. 28 to ask for an administrative law judge to hear the case or to appeal to the Fayette Circuit Court. Sexton said in many cases, the case is settled before it goes to a hearing.
The civil penalty for violating the Fair Housing Act can be upwards of $25,000. The tenant can also ask for other monetary damages if Johnson is found guilty, said Art Crosby, executive director of the Lexington Fair Housing Council, who is representing the woman in the case against Johnson.
Other cases that involved allegations of sexual harassment of tenants by landlords have resulted in substantial monetary pay outs.
In December 2021, Russellville couple Chester Gordon Whitescarver and his wife, Betsy Whitescarver paid $230,000 to resolve a lawsuit that alleged Chester Whitescaver repeatedly sexually harassed 12 current and former tenants. According to documents in the U.S. District Court for Western Kentucky, the current and former tenants received $220,000 and the government received $10,000.
