Lexington rental property manager accused of sexually harassing female tenants
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against a Lexington property manager, accusing him of violating the federal Fair Housing Act by sexually harassing female tenants at rental properties he managed.
“For at least 20 years, Adnan Shalash has sexually harassed numerous female tenants by offering housing-related benefits in exchange for sexual contact, making unwelcome sexual comments and advances, entering their homes without permission, subjecting them to unwelcome touching and groping, and taking adverse housing-related actions against those who refused his sexual advances,” a Justice Department overview of the case states.
In addition to Shalash, the lawsuit names as defendants 11 owners of rental properties Shalash managed. Among the corporate defendants are Fox Den Properties, Happy Tenants and Griffith Market. Most of the defendants are relatives of Shalash, and each of them had at least one tenant harassed by Shalash, the Justice Department says.
Shalash has owned or managed more than 100 residential rental properties in Lexington over the past 20 years, “including single-family homes, duplexes, four-plexes, and apartment complexes,” the suit states.
The lawsuit says he has offered female tenants, prospective tenants or their family members benefits, “such as reducing rent or excusing late or unpaid rent” in exchange for sexual favors.
Those who refused his advances were threatened with eviction, the lawsuit alleges.
Shalash is also accused in the suit of using his key to go inside the women’s apartments when they were in the shower or late at night “under the guise of conducting maintenance.”
The lawsuit says the owners of the properties he managed “knew or should have known of the discriminatory conduct of Defendant Shalash as it was so pervasive and well known in the community, yet failed to take reasonable preventive or corrective measures.”
The suit seeks monetary damages for victims and civil penalties against each property owner, along with a court order prohibiting any discrimination in the future.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Lexington. The Justice Department said it is the result of a joint investigation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General.
“Sexual harassment in housing deprives its victims of the safety and security that a home is supposed to provide them,” Carlton Shier IV, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, said in a news release.
“That makes committed enforcement of the Fair Housing Act critical to ensuring that victims can gain relief from this shameful conduct and seek a safe and secure home for their families.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the department is committed to holding housing providers accountable and protecting tenants.
“Sexual harassment by housing providers is an egregious abuse of power,” she said in the news release. “Women should never feel unsafe in their own homes.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 10:24 PM.
