Seven women say maintenance men at the public housing complex where they live, forced them to trade sex for repairs.
Their attorneys say the women did not come forward until now because they were afraid of what might happen to them if they complained. Their lawsuit targets the city housing authority, the man who runs it -- and two of his employees -- who the plaintiffs say only made repairs to their apartments, if they got something in return.
But still, she says, it hasn't been fixed. Diggs says she's heard that for some of her neighbors, repairs happen more quickly if they perform sexual favors, for certain maintenance men.
Now, seven female residents of Gilmor Homes, and another public housing complex, have come forward -- with a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Baltimore. The plaintiffs detail several disturbing encounters with housing employees.
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One says she went to the maintenance supervisor's office, and asked "What do I have to do to get things fixed? Some of the repairs the women asked for are serious -- involving mold, exposed wires and heating problems. They say if sexual favors were granted, repairs were made. If not, things still have not gotten fixed. The suit also alleges Housing Authority Chairman Paul Graziano should have known about the problems, because the women had made complaints.
