Attorney General Anthony Brown on Friday discusses a sexual discrimination suit against an Eastern Shore landlord, the first filed by a new civil rights division in Brown's office. Photo by Elijah Pittman
The Attorney General’s Office on Friday sued a Wicomico County landlord for sexual discrimination, claiming he coerced women who were tenants and potential renters for sex in exchange for preferential treatment.
The lawsuit against Eric R. Sessoms and the Mt. Vernon Group LLC is the first filed under the office’s new civil rights division, which launched this year. Attorney General Anthony Brown said the civil rights division was involved because Sessoms’ alleged actions are in violation of Maryland’s anti-discrimination laws and the federal Fair Housing Act
“In Maryland, that ends today,” Brown said in a statement Friday. “This historic filing puts landlords on notice: You cannot sexually harass your tenants. And if you do, the Office of the Attorney General will take action.”
A message left late Friday at the Mt. Vernon Group office in Salisbury was not immediately returned.
According to the suit, Sessoms managed 23 properties in towns around the Lower Shore. The suit said that since at least 2019, Sessoms “engaged in a persistent course of conduct that subjected women tenants and prospective tenants … to discrimination based on gender, including unwelcome and severe or pervasive sexual harassment.”
In one case, in March 2023, Sessoms had a prospective tenant meet him in a warehouse on the pretext of having her sign a lease. Instead he asked if her husband was coming and, when she said no, he flashed his genitals and placed her hand on them, according to the complaint.
In another case, in late 2021, he offered reduced rent in exchange for sexual favors. The tenant conceded but in 2022, when the tenant said she wanted to stop, Sessoms retaliated by illegally evicting her, according to court documents.
The lawsuit lists a total of five such incidents, but said there were likely others. In each case, Sessoms preyed on women who were unhoused or in danger of becoming homeless, the suit said.
When asked about the possibility of finding emergency housing for women in such situations, the head of the civil rights division said the office is “not equipped” to do that.
“Our office is set up to address patterns and practices of violations and we’re not equipped to take emergency relief, although I certainly would never rule it out under the right circumstances,” Jonathan Smith, the division chief, said at Friday’s news conference.
Vicki Schultz, the executive director of Maryland Legal Aid, agreed with Smith and Brown that the primary goal is to go after predatory landlords. Schultz said that because there is an affordable housing crisis it is hard to relocate the women tenants who may be facing discrimination.
“That’s the vulnerability that the attorney general was speaking about today,” Schultz said Friday. “These are often housing of last resort, nowhere to go, and that’s what keeps women in these terrible predatory situations. But when we hear about it we can help take action.”
This case is the first launched by the Civil Rights Division, which was created in January under a law passed last year. The division allows the attorney general and partner agencies to pursue litigation concerning discrimination based on race, religion, gender and more.
The press release announcing Friday’s suit said the division has launched “several additional investigations” into civil rights violation patterns across the state.
Civil rights violations can be reported to the Attorney General’s Office by email at civilrights@oag.state.md.us , can be submitted as a complaint on their website , or by calling (410) 576-6300.
Other resources available to victims include Maryland Legal Aid, which can be called at (410) 260-1392, and the Equal Rights Center (202) 234-3062.
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