Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Filed Against Property Management Company

A lawsuit was filed against Trinity Multifamily Property Management in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on June 23^rd after multiple complaints of sexual assault and sexual harassment were ignored.

A maintenance worker at Southbrooke Apartments was not removed from employment even after several complaints were filed by multiple tenants with the large property management company.

Victims Scared to Come Forward

The sexual harassment and assault lawsuit alleges that the property management firm allowed the maintenance worker to keep working at Southbrooke Apartments even after several victims filed complaints of sexual harassment and assault. Some of the complaints date as far back as May 2015. One of the victims was a 12 year old girl.

The maintenance worker has not been formally charged by the police of any crime and has been working at the apartments for over 16 years. He is also employed for maintenance at Fairway Apartments in Fort Smith as stated in the lawsuit.

The employee has a set of master keys as part of the job role, which gives him access to all Southbrooke apartment units. The first victim told the law enforcement and management that they were scared to come forward since the employee had a master key to their apartment and anything could happen.

Manager Threatened Eviction

According to the lawsuit, the manager at Southbrooke apartments even threatened a few of the victims with eviction if they filed a formal complaint. This allowed the maintenance worker to continue in his role despite multiple complaints of sexual assault.

In one instance, he entered a tenant’s apartment without any permission from the tenant. The incident was reported to the local law enforcement and complaint filed with the management. The lawsuit does not specify the amount or nature of damages sought.

Arkansas Sexual Harassment Comes in Many Forms

Sexual harassment is among the most pervasive forms of gender harassment. A majority of victims are women. Actionable sexual harassment can range from repeated aggressive and unwanted sexual advances to isolated incidents. It’s vital to seek advice from an experienced sexual harassment lawyer regardless of the type of incident.

These are a few types of sexual harassment:

• Posting pornographic and sexually suggestive pictures or comics
• Requests for sexual favors
• Unwanted sexual advances
• Repeated and unwanted requests for dates
• Off color or sexual jokes
• Derogatory or stereotyping comments

Sexual harassment doesn’t always have to be sexual in nature. It can also include insensitive and derogatory comments about one’s gender. Typically, isolated incidents are not actionable. However, it depends on the kind of situation and circumstances leading up to it. This is why consulting with a sexual harassment attorney is necessary.