The man would go through the tenant's clothes, as well as her daughter's, and he would pick out their underwear and sniff them.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on July 27, 2021. It has since been updated.
Trigger Warning: This story mentions sexual assault that might be disturbing to readers.
A landlord from Connecticut has been arrested after he reportedly broke into his female tenant's home and went through her and her daughter's personal property, including their underwear. In May 2021, the tenant filed a report against her landlord, 38-year-old Jorge Orellana-Arias, claiming that she had ongoing issues with him, given how he kept entering her unit without prior information, according to NBC Connecticut.
He would do this when he believed no one was at home, and once inside, he'd go through the tenant's clothes, as well as her daughter's. Once, Orellana-Arias tried to enter the house when he thought no one was home, but he quickly left when he realized the daughter was inside, alone, the tenant told the cops.
Jorge Orellana-Arias Connecticut Landlord caught on video sneaking in tenant's apartment sniffing her underwear. https://t.co/28MBYHRFEo via @nypost
— ERIC WRIGHT™🎶🎥🎧💻 (@therealeric916) July 26, 2021
Due to the frequency of incidents, the tenants decided to install cameras within and around their home, as per PEOPLE. According to authorities, the camera captured Orellana-Arias entering the apartment through a side door. Once inside, he went into both bedrooms, and rummaged through their drawers, only to pick out their underwear, which he proceeded to sniff.
The landlord has been charged with third-degree burglary for breaking and entering, and it is unclear if he has entered a plea at the time. He was released on a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on September 14.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that landlords have crossed the line with their tenants. During the beginning of the pandemic, when people were struggling to make ends meet, there were some homeowners kind enough to exempt their tenants from paying the rent. Others, though, opted to make use of the situation by asking the people—especially women—for sexual favors to be exempted from paying the rent.
Per Reuters, a survey by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) of more than 100 fair housing groups combating discrimination across the United States found that there was a 13% increase in sexual harassment complaints during the coronavirus pandemic. “If I did not have s*x with him, he was going to put me out,” one woman facing eviction by her property manager told the NFHA in a podcast on their website. “As a single mum, I had no choice. I didn’t want to lose my housing.”
References:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-housing-harassment-trfn-idUSKBN22X2N7
Cover Image Source (Representative): Getty Images | Photo by Michael H