Lawyers aboard in landlord sex case
By Matthew Yi
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
October 18, 2000
©2000 San Francisco Examiner

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/18/landlord.dtl



2 teen girls from India who say they were brought here illegally now have a legal team


OAKLAND - Two teenage girls who told police they were smuggled from India by a wealthy Berkeley landlord so he could have sex with them now have a team of lawyers.

The legal team includes Oakland immigration attorney Nancy Hormachea, and lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project and the San Francisco law firm Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain, the ACLU announced Tuesday.

The case against Lakireddy Bali Reddy, 63, came to light when the older sister of one of the girls died last November after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning in an apartment owned by the defendant.

Sitha Vemireddy, 17, and her younger sister were found unconscious in their apartment in downtown Berkeley by their roommate.

The surviving sister and her roommate later told authorities they were illegally brought into the United States by Reddy so he could have sex with them.

The suspect was arrested on Jan. 14 and the girls were placed in protective custody.

Reddy, who owns about 1,100 apartment units in the East Bay, faces numerous federal charges ranging from conspiracy to trafficking illegal immigrants for immoral purposes.

A federal judge released Reddy on $10 million bail and ordered him to await his trial at his brother's home in Merced.

His son, Vijay Kumar Lakireddy, also has been indicted on federal immigration charges and is free on $500,000 bail.

Venkateshwara Vemireddy, who posed as the two sisters' father when he brought them from India, also has been indicted and remains in a federal halfway house in the East Bay awaiting trial.

While defense attorneys have asked some of the charges be dropped because they are vague, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Saundra Armstrong in Oakland that they plan to file additional charges. The next court hearing is set for Oct. 24 in Oakland.

©2000 San Francisco Examiner