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The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that it has formed a legal team to represent the alleged victims of Berkeley landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy. 

The legal team was formed by and includes the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, based in San Francisco and New York, as well as Oakland immigration attorney Nancy Hormachea and San Francisco law firm Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin and Demain. 

The victims and others who have been contacted by U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services as a result of the investigation into Reddy and his son Vijay Kumar Lakireddy will not be available for interviews, according to an ACLU spokesman. 

Reddy was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department in February on nine counts including transportation of minors for illegal sexual activity.  

He came to the attention of investigators in November 1999 when a minor girl was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in an apartment owned by Reddy in Berkeley. 

Reddy is currently free on $10 million bail. His son is free on $500,000 bail. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 24.