Wichita property manager pushed tenants for sex, federal lawsuit says

A Wichita landlord and property manager grabbed female tenants’ breasts or buttocks and repeatedly asked for sex in exchange for rent, a federal lawsuit alleges.

The manager came into one woman’s apartment “unannounced … touching her body while she slept in her bed,” the lawsuit says.

The manager’s attorney responded Monday by saying the allegations were fabricated.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it had filed the lawsuit in federal court in Kansas. It alleges that female tenants at Wichita residential properties suffered “egregious sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.”

The lawsuit identifies two women as being among the victims. The Eagle does not identify alleged victims of sexual harassment without their permission.

The lawsuit complaint names four defendants: Thong Cao, who manages the properties and does business as Cao Properties and Rentals; Mai Cao; Van T. Le; and Tong Nguyen. Each defendant owns or owned some of the properties where the harassment occurred, the Justice Department said in an email statement.

The lawsuit says the owners bear liability for the alleged discrimination.

Wichita attorney Ed Robinson said in an email statement: “Mr. and Mrs. Cao flatly deny the allegations made against them in this case. For several years they have provided safe, affordable housing to the people of Wichita. Unfortunately, two of their former tenants have colluded to fabricate disgusting claims of harassment for financial gain and have persuaded overeager, career HUD investigators to support their fraudulent endeavor.”

Robinson said the lawsuit allegations “are contradicted by neutral, third-party accounts and by the Sedgwick County District Court, which already rejected the claims” of one accuser.

The lawsuit says Thong Cao sexually harassed female tenants from at least 2010 to 2014.

The complaint accuses him of “making unwelcome sexual advances and comments, engaging in unwanted sexual touching, and evicting tenants who refused to engage in sexual conduct with him.”

According to the lawsuit, Thong Cao and Mai Cao owned and operated at least five Wichita rental properties, including in the 6100 block of West York Court, in the 800 block of North Oliver and in the 800 block of Glendale.

Le and Nguyen owned at least four rental Wichita rental properties, including in the 1600 block of East Tulsa and 1600 block of East Crowley.

Thong Cao “controlled or had the power to control all aspects of the management” of the rental properties, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit gives detailed allegations from two women. Around 2010 one of the women moved to a property owned by Thong Cao and Mai Cao. The woman’s rent was $800 a month.

The allegations include Thong Cao “Entering (her) unit unannounced and touching her body while she slept in her bed ... Grabbing or touching her buttocks … telling (her) that if she slept with him once a week, she would not have to pay rent ... Repeatedly asking her for sex.”

After she refused Thong Cao’s sexual advances, the lawsuit says, she received an eviction notice for failure to pay rent and moved out in June 2014.

He caused her to “feel unsafe, anxious, and humiliated,” it says.

A second woman said that in early 2014 she signed a lease with Le and Nguyen. “From March 2014 through the termination of (her) tenancy approximately five months later, (Thong) Cao subjected (her) to severe, pervasive, and unwelcome sexual harassment,” the complaint says.

The allegations include Thong Cao “Grabbing her breasts and buttocks … Conditioning tangible housing benefits, including repairs and forgiving or reducing rent, on engaging in sexual conduct with (Thong) Cao … Repeatedly asking for sex ... Making sexual comments.”

The woman “refused all of Cao’s sexual advances” and told him they were unwelcome, it says.

In early July 2014, the woman filed a police report against Thong Cao “and told the police that Cao was asking for sex in exchange for rent,” the lawsuit says.

About two weeks after she filed the police report, Thong Cao asked her for sex, and she refused, it says. “During this same interaction,” after her refusal, Thong Cao gave her a three-day notice to vacate, it says. Then she received a notice of an eviction hearing for failure to pay rent. About a week later, the woman and her grandchildren were evicted.

At multiple times from around 2010 to 2014, Thong Cao “made unwelcome sexual comments and advances to female tenants in addition to” the two women identified in the lawsuit, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit resulted from two complaints that former tenants filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Justice Department statement said.

The Justice Department invited anyone who thinks they might have been sexually harassed or discriminated against at rental properties owned or operated by Thong Cao – or who might have information relevant to the case – to call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line. For English, call 800-896-7743 and select mailbox 994. For Spanish, call 800-896-7743, and select mailbox 3.

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Wichita property manager pushed tenants for sex, federal lawsuit says."