MORGANTOWN – The details of a settlement in a sexual harassment lawsuit involving a Morgantown landlord have been released.
Under the settlement, Gary Walden is prohibited from managing the apartments, entering them or contacted current or former tenants. He will have to pay $600,000 to resolve the allegations – $500,000 to the women he allegedly harmed and $100,000 in civil penalties.
Walden pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges in 2015 and spent 19 months in state prison.
The federal lawsuit followed four tenants’ federal complaints alleging groping and verbal harassment. The four female tenants claimed they were subjected to unwanted and unwelcome sex acts. Walden also allegedly offered tangible housing benefits to women in exchange for sex acts and entering apartments without notice to sexually harass victims, among other claims.
The settlement was reached in May, but the details were unavailable at the time.
