Lawsuit filed against East Coast landlords for sexual abuse of tenants

On Friday, the Attorney General’s Office sued a Wicomico County landlord for sexual discrimination, alleging that he coerced female tenants and potential tenants into having sex in exchange for preferential treatment.

The lawsuit against Eric R. Sessoms and the Mt. Vernon Group LLC is the first filed by the office’s new Civil Rights Division, which was created this year. Attorney General Anthony Brown said the Civil Rights Division was called in because Sessoms’ alleged actions against Maryland’s anti-discrimination laws and the federal Fair Housing Act

“In Maryland, that ends today,” Brown said in a statement Friday. “This historic filing puts landlords on notice: You cannot sexually harass your tenants. And if you do, the Attorney General’s office will take action.”

A message left late Friday at the Mt. Vernon Group’s office in Salisbury was not immediately returned.

According to the lawsuit, Sessoms managed 23 properties in cities around the Lower Shore. The lawsuit states that since at least 2019, Sessoms “engaged in persistent conduct that subjected female tenants and prospective tenants … to sex discrimination, including unwelcome and severe or pervasive sexual harassment.”

In one case in March 2023, Sessoms had a prospective tenant at a warehouse under the pretense of having her sign a lease. Instead, he asked if her husband was coming, and when she said no, he showed her his genitals and put her hand on them, according to the complaint.

In another case, he offered a rent reduction in exchange for sexual favors in late 2021. The tenant complied, but when she said she wanted to quit in 2022, Sessoms retaliated by illegally evicting her, according to court documents.

The lawsuit lists five such incidents in total, but says there are likely more. In each case, Sessoms exploited women who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, the lawsuit says.

When asked whether it was possible to find emergency accommodation for women in such situations, the head of the civil rights division said the office was “not equipped” to do so.

“Our office is focused on investigating patterns and practices of violations, and we are not in a position to provide emergency assistance, although I would certainly never rule that out under the right circumstances,” Jonathan Smith, the department head, said this at the press conference on Friday.

Vicki Schultz, executive director of Maryland Legal Aid, agreed with Smith and Brown that the main goal is to crack down on predatory landlords. Schultz said the affordable housing crisis makes it difficult to relocate female tenants who may be discriminated against.

“This is the vulnerability that the attorney general spoke about today,” Schultz said Friday. “These are often shelters of last resort with nowhere to go, and that’s what keeps women in these horrific, predatory situations. But when we learn about it, we can help take action.”

This case is the first brought by the Civil Rights Division, which was created in January under a law passed last year. The division allows the attorney general and its partner agencies to bring lawsuits alleging discrimination based on race, religion, sex and other grounds.

The press release announcing the lawsuit on Friday said the department had launched “several additional investigations” into patterns of civil rights violations across the state.

Violations of civil rights can be reported to the Attorney General’s Office by email at (email protected)can be submitted as a complaint to their websiteor call (410) 576-6300.

Other resources available to victims include Maryland Legal Aid (reachable at (410) 260-1392) and the Equal Rights Center (202) 234-3062.