Justice Department Sues Missouri Housing Authority for Sexual Harassment of Public Housing Applicant by Former Executive Director

The Justice Department announced today that it filed a lawsuit against Eddie Joe Hankins and the Housing Authority of the City of Bloomfield, Missouri, for sexually harassing a female housing applicant in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Hankins was the executive director of the Missouri Housing Authority from 2019 through 2022.

"There is no place in America for public officials who abuse their trust to coerce sexual acts from the people they are duty-bound to help, be it in public housing or other areas. We will hold them accountable," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges that in 2021, a woman living with her three children applied for public housing. After her application was denied, the complaint alleges that she went to meet with Executive Director Hankins, who made unwanted sexual advances toward her. The suit also alleges that Hankins made sexual comments about the applicant's appearance, conditioned housing for her family upon submission to his conduct, and that he refused to assist her with obtaining housing once she resisted his sexual advances. The lawsuit also alleges that the Housing Authority is vicariously liable for Hankins' unlawful conduct.

The applicant filed a complaint against the Housing Authority and Hankins with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After an investigation, HUD determined that the Housing Authority and Hankins discriminated against the applicant in violation of the Fair Housing Act and issued a charge of discrimination. After the applicant chose to have the matter decided in federal court, HUD referred the matter to the Department of Justice.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages to compensate the applicant harmed by the alleged harassment and a court order barring future discrimination.

If you are a victim of sexual harassment by another landlord or property manager or have suffered other forms of housing discrimination, call the Justice Department's Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743 or submit a report online. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at https://www.justice.gov/crt. This settlement is part of the Justice Department's Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative. The initiative, which the Department launched in October 2017, seeks to address and raise awareness about sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, loan officers and other people who have control over housing. Since launching the initiative, the department has filed 50 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered nearly $16.2 million for victims of such harassment.