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Owner of sober homes to pay $3.8 million for sexually exploiting tenants
McCarthy owned and operators Steps of Solutions, Inc., where prosecutors say he harassed tenants from at least 2009 until 2021.
A Lynn man who owned and operated at least 14 sober homes in the Boston area will pay nearly $4 million to former tenants who he sexually harassed, federal prosecutors said Monday.
Peter McCarthy, 51, was found to have violated the Fair Housing Act after a five-day federal trial in Boston, said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. Seven of his victims will receive $3.8 million in damages.
McCarthy owned and operators Steps of Solutions, Inc., where prosecutors say he harassed tenants from at least 2009 to 2021. According to the civil complaint, McCarthy sublet rooms in his sober homes located in Dorchester, Brockton, Fall River, Boston, Roxbury, and Lynn.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the complaint against McCarthy in 2021, alleging that he offered reduced or forgiven rent in exchange for sexual favors. He was also accused of making unwelcome sexual comments and advances, requesting nude photos in exchange for forgiving rent, and retaliating against residents who reported his actions.
McCarthy was convicted of indecent assault and battery in 1992 and was registered as a sex offender from 2004 to 2015, the complaint said.
“This defendant preyed on vulnerable women in recovery from addiction and forced them to choose between his sexual demands and keeping a roof over their heads,” Levy said in a statement. “Housing is a fundamental need and every person has the right to feel safe and secure in their own home. No one should be subjected to unwanted demands for sex acts from their landlord.”
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The complaint said that in 2016, McCarthy told a woman, who promptly moved out, that she wouldn’t need to pay a security deposit if she engaged in sexual acts with him. In 2017, another victim said that McCarthy said that a tenant could have an overnight pass “if you make me breakfast on Sunday morning,” which the complaint said implied she should spend the night with him.
McCarthy also sent texts to female tenants like “[your] body looks good to me,” “don’t hide that body,” and “send me a shower pic,” prosecutors said.
Sober homes are not licensed or funded by the state, according to the Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing. Instead, the organization internally certifies sober living homes.
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