AMESVILLE, Ohio — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Dec. 18 that the owners and operators of several southeast Ohio rentals agreed to a $480,000 settlement agreement in a sexual harassment case against their former rental manager and family member, Joe Lucas.
Joe Lucas, of Amesville, sexually harassed female tenants for about 20 years, according to the DOJ’s lawsuit. The DOJ amended its initial lawsuit to include Lucas’s grandchildren, Jacob Bush and Joie Carr, as well as their spouses, Emily Bush and Jeremy Carr.
The amended complaint alleged that Lucas sexually harassed tenants at properties his family members owned, while acting in his capacity as a property manager.
Under the settlement entered into by the Bushes and Carrs, the four co-defendants “will pay a total of $470,000 to women harmed by Lucas’ harassment and a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States,” a DOJ press release states.
Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio attorney Caitlyn McDaniel previously told the Independent that adding Lucas’s family members sent “a clear message to housing providers that they are potentially liable for the bad acts of their agents.”
“This message should encourage housing providers to hire agents carefully, train them adequately, and always maintain proper supervision to prevent the types of sexual harassment and other problems alleged to have occurred in the Lucas case,” McDaniel added in her July 2024 email.
McDaniel was not immediately able to comment for this story on behalf of Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio.
In addition to the financial agreement, the agreement requires the Bushes and Carrs to prohibit Lucas from managing their rentals, “adopt policies and procedures to prevent future sexual harassment at their properties” and “attend training on the requirements of the Fair Housing Act, including its prohibition on sexual harassment,” the DOJ press release says.
The DOJ alleges that Lucas requested sex from tenants; threatened tenants who refused sex with loss of housing; initiated eviction against tenants who refused his advances; offered housing benefits to tenants who accepted his advances; subjected tenants to unwelcome sexual touching; and engaged in other offenses that constituted sexual harassment.
The settlement agreement does not resolve claims against Lucas. In a Sept. 26 motion, Lucas’s attorney motioned to appoint a guardian to represent his interests in the case.
“Mr. Lucas has been diagnosed with dementia and a forensic neuropsychologist has opined that he is unable to effectively participate in legal proceedings,” the motion stated.
That motion remains pending before the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division.
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