Thursday, March 23, 2023

Canton landlord facing sex harassment charges

Federal officials have charged a 50-year-old Canton Township man with sexual harassment of multiple women who either lived in or were seeking to rent one of 26-rental properties he owned.

Mohamad “Moe” Hussein is charged with making unwanted sexual comments and advances toward women tenants in a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The federal lawsuit alleges that Hussein continued the alleged sexual aggression from 2017 until 2020.  Prosecutors allege that Hussein demanded women send him sexual images or engage in sex acts as a condition of renting one of his homes. The lawsuit claims that Hussein offered to reduce rental fees, pay utility bills or reduce security deposits in exchange for sex acts. It is also alleged he sent graphic sexual images of himself to women.

Prosecutors claim Hussein solicited sex acts in March of 2020 from a 19-year-old attempting to rent a Dearborn Heights home with her father. Following the text messages suggesting sex acts, the woman and her father stopped further contact with Hussein regarding renting the home, according to the court filings.

“No one should be denied the right to housing because they refuse to submit to a landlord's sexual demands,” stated Justice Department Civil Rights Division Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing the Fair Housing Act and seeking justice for those sexually harassed by landlords and other housing providers.”

Federal officials suggested that any other victims of sexual harassment or other housing discrimination by Hussein contact them at 1-833-591-0291 or contact the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan at (313) 226-9151, or by email at usamie.civilrights@usdoj.gov.