Bath woman sues apartment manager after alleged sexual assault in home

A Bath woman says a chirping smoke detector opened the door to a violent assault inside her apartment at Huse School Apartments, a 59-unit affordable-housing complex near downtown Bath, the YMCA and the Whiskeag Trail. Her federal lawsuit says a maintenance worker came into her home last June to make the repair, then repeatedly sexually assaulted her before warning her not to tell anyone.

The civil case, Schilling v. Saco Falls Management LLC et al., was filed June 16 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine in Portland and is identified on the public docket as a Fair Housing Act and accommodations case. The lawsuit names Saco Falls Management, which owns the property, and accuses the company of assault and battery, negligence in hiring and supervision, and violating federal housing law.

The complaint says the woman reported the assault to Saco Falls Management and to Bath police the next morning. Bath police Chief Andrew Booth said the department received a report from the apartment complex in the relevant time frame and investigated, but he did not say whether there was an arrest or offer further details. Sagadahoc County District Attorney Natasha Irving said no charges had been filed against the worker as of her response, and the worker is not being named because he has not been criminally charged.

The lawsuit also says the tenant’s life unraveled after the attack. It alleges she suffered emotional distress, lost sleep and appetite, could not work, and eventually lost her job. Her attorneys further contend that the company moved ahead with an eviction two days after she reported the assault, even though there had been an earlier agreement to pause the process over nonpayment. That sequence is likely to sharpen questions about what renters should expect when they report a serious safety issue inside their own homes, and what obligations landlords have to keep residents protected while an investigation is underway.

Huse School Apartments opened in July 2017 after the renovation and rehabilitation of the former John E.L. Huse Memorial School, a building originally constructed in 1942 and 1949. Saco Falls Management describes the property as smoke-free. Kristin Martin is listed as president of the company and has worked for Saco Falls Management and The Szanton Company since 2013. Martin declined to comment on the allegations and would not say whether the worker still worked for the company, though the employee was still listed on the company website as of Wednesday.