The US Justice Department has sued Pennsylvania landlord Venkatchalam Mani, alleging he sexually harassed a female tenant and retaliated after she rejected his advances by ignoring maintenance requests, including a broken furnace that later caught fire. The lawsuit seeks damages, an end to discriminatory practices, and follows a HUD investigation under the Fair Housing Act.
Washington: The federal government in the United States has sued Venkatchalam Mani, the owner of a Pennsylvania rental property, alleging that he sexually harassed a female tenant and retaliated against her when she refused his advances.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday, alleges that Mani, a landlord in the State College borough, made unwelcome sexual advances toward a female tenant, including sexual touching.
After the tenant rejected his advances, Mani failed to respond to her repeated requests for maintenance, including repairing a broken furnace in the middle of winter that eventually caught fire.
"This conduct is illegal. The Justice Department will uphold the rights of female tenants to housing without the threat of sexual harassment by a landlord,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K Dhillon of the department's Civil Rights Division.
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