A federal court has issued a default judgment against three men from Bakersfield and Van Nuys for violating the Fair Housing Act. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California stated that Juvenal Salazar, Javier Salazar Sr., and Ricardo Covarrubias were found liable for sexual harassment and retaliation against a female tenant. The case involved allegations of unwanted conduct and adverse actions taken after the tenant reported the behavior.
A federal judge has ordered Juvenal Salazar, his father Javier Salazar Sr., and property owner Covarrubias to pay $45,000 in damages, undergo Fair Housing Act training, and implement a sexual harassment policy. The lawsuit stated that Juvenal Salazar made repeated unwanted sexual requests to a tenant, expressed his desires openly, touched her without consent twice, and took inappropriate photos of her. After the tenant reported the behavior, her heat was cut off due to an unresolved gas leak, and she eventually left the residence. The defendants did not respond to the lawsuit, leading to a default judgment in favor of the United States, issued by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“For four months, this tenant refused the repeated sexual advances by the maintenance worker at her home, and when she reported the sexual harassment, she faced retaliation,” said Beckwith. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California is working with other agencies as part of the Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative, which began in October 2017. Since then, the department has filed 47 lawsuits involving sexual harassment in housing and obtained nearly $17 million for victims. People can report housing-related sexual harassment or retaliation by calling the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, emailing [email protected], or submitting a report online. Reports can also be made to the Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777 or through its website.
