Hezekiah and Jameseva Webb, Sexual Harassment, Missouri 2024

Two St. Louis landlords, Hezekiah and Jameseva Webb, have been charged with violating the Fair Housing Act by subjecting female tenants to sexual harassment and retaliation.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the Webbs in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that Hezekiah Webb, who served as property manager for the Webbs’ rental properties, sexually harassed female tenants at their properties.

The complaint alleges that such harassment included conditioning housing or housing benefits on female tenants’ agreement to engage in sexual acts; coercing female tenants to engage in unwelcome sexual acts; subjecting female tenants to unwanted sexual touching and other unwanted sexual acts; making unwelcome sexual comments and advances to female tenants and taking adverse actions against female residents when they refused the sexual advances.

“No woman should ever suffer from threats, violence or harassment in her home,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department works vigorously to enforce the Fair Housing Act by vindicating the civil rights of tenants so that all people can live in their homes and feel safe, protected and free.”

The suit seeks monetary damages to compensate the victims, civil penalties and a court order barring future discrimination.

Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination at one of the Webbs’ properties, or elsewhere, can contact the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or through its website at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp .

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status.

Defendant/respondent: Hezekiah and Jameseva Webb

Criminal charges: Violating the Fair Housing Act by subjecting female tenants to sexual harassment and retaliation

City and state: St. Louis, Missouri

Exact date: Not specified

Sentence or outcome: Ongoing litigation

Dollar amounts: Not specified

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