Landlord fined $200K for 'sex for rent' scheme

Multiple landlords in Ohio and Wiltshire have been fined or jailed for engaging in 'sex for rent' schemes, where they demanded sexual favors from female tenants in exchange for reduced rent or accommodation. Joseph Pedaline, an Ohio landlord, was fined nearly $200,000 for subjecting female tenants to harassment and exploitation, including offering to excuse rent for sexual acts. In a separate case, Frederick Allard, a landlord in Wiltshire, was jailed for 30 months for sexually assaulting and coercing vulnerable women into performing sex acts in exchange for reduced rent, with one victim as young as a teenager. Allard's actions have been deemed exploitative and predatory, leading to significant psychological impact on the victims involved. Authorities have emphasized a zero-tolerance policy towards such egregious behavior, with investigations and legal actions ongoing to protect tenants from such abuses.