Berkeley Landlord Arrested in Sex Scheme
Police say he brought girls from India
Debra Levi Holtz, Chuck Squatriglia, Chronicle Staff Writers
Thursday, January 20, 2000
©2000 San Francisco Chronicle

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/01/20/MN23411.DTL


BERKELEY -- A well-known Berkeley landlord and restaurant owner is in federal custody on charges of illegally bringing two teenage girls and a young woman from India into the United States to have sex with him.

Lakireddy Bali Reddy, 62, is accused of bringing the girls and the woman to Berkeley ``for the purpose of prostitution and for other immoral purposes,'' according to a federal complaint. The charges come nearly two months after one of the girls, who was 17, died of carbon monoxide poisoning in an apartment building that Reddy owns.

Although federal authorities would not comment on the case yesterday, Berkeley police said Reddy may have been exploited others, and encouraged victims to come forward.

``We believe there are more victims out there that we don't even know about,'' said Berkeley Police Capt. Bobby Miller. ``It could touch several cities, several counties, even other states.''

Police do not believe that the teenagers or the woman were involved in any prostitution ring, said Miller, but they are certain they were sexually molested by Reddy.

Reddy is the principal partner in Reddy Realty, the largest rental property owner in Berkeley, which owns and manages more than 1,000 units. He also owns Pasand Madras Cuisine on Shattuck Avenue and a restaurant by the same name in Santa Clara.

Reddy also owns properties in India.

Berkeley police received a series of anonymous letters alerting them to Reddy's alleged behavior with Indian girls during their investigation into the November 24 death of 17- year-old Seetha Vemireddy.

Police concluded that the girl's death was accidental, caused by a blocked wall heater vent, Miller said, but nevertheless they continued to investigate Reddy.

A complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oakland accuses Reddy of paying two Indian citizens to pose as the parents of Vemireddy and her 15-year-old sister, and to bring them to Berkeley last summer under assumed names.

The younger sister, who survived the carbon monoxide poisoning the day before Thanksgiving, told Berkeley police and Immigration and Naturalization Service agents that she had been having sexual intercourse with Reddy in India ``since she was turned over to him by her parents at the approximate age of 12.''

According to an affidavit filed in federal court, a 20-year-old woman who was living with the sisters at the apartment at 2020 Bancroft Way also told federal agents that her father had sold her to Reddy because of economic hardship when she was 14. She said she worked for him at property he owns in India for five years until he brought her to Berkeley last year.

The woman said that Reddy arranged for her to enter into a fraudulent marriage in order to obtain a visa for immigration into the United States. ``The primary purpose for her to enter the U.S. was to continue to have sex with Reddy,'' the affidavit said.

After the teenage sisters moved in with her last August, she said Reddy had sex with both of the girls frequently in front of her.

The Vemireddy sisters were often seen doing maintenance work on the apartment building as well as working at Pasand Madras Cuisine nearby.

A women who works in an office building down the block that is also owned by Reddy said yesterday that she often saw teenage girls dressed in traditional Indian saris performing tasks such as painting and hauling trash at the properties in the neighborhood owned by Reddy.

``It's always struck me that they were using women,'' said the woman who did not want her name used. ``It doesn't surprise me in the least that Mr. Reddy has been accused of this.''

The office worker said the girls all appeared to be in their early to mid- teens and were watched over by older men.

``We thought they treated them like slaves,'' she said. ``They always looked so sad.''

City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque, who is of Indian descent, said members of the Indian community she has spoken with were ``appalled'' by the treatment the girls allegedly experienced.

``They don't have any finances, they're completely dependent on someone who would exploit them in this fashion.''

Reddy, who moved to Berkeley from southern India more than 40 years ago, is scheduled to appear in federal court tomorrow for a hearing on whether he should remain in custody.




WHERE TO CALL
Anyone with information about Reddy, women who speak Hindi, Telegu or other Indian languages can contact the following South Asian women's organizations: Maitri (San Jose and the South Bay), (888) 862-4874; Narika (Berkeley and the East Bay), (800) 213-7308; or the Indo- American Community Service Center at (408) 748-1771. Berkeley police can be reached at (510) 644-6062 or (510) 843-2677 if you prefer to remain anonymous.


Chronicle staff writer Henry K. Lee contributed to this story

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