A Putnam County judge has ruled that two Eatonton residents violated state housing laws by refusing to rent a house to an interracial couple.

In August 2009, the couple, Michael and Deanna Joseph, tried to rent a house in Eatonton owned by Roy Embry, according to a news release from state Attorney General Sam Olens’ office. Initially, Embry’s rental agent, Rhonda Tuttle, met only with Deanna Joseph and agreed to rent the property to her and her husband.

Once it was discovered that Michael Joseph is black, Tuttle informed Deanna Joseph that Embry would not rent to an interracial couple and refused to rent the house to the Josephs, according to Olens’ statement.

Deanna Joseph filed a complaint with the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity, alleging that Embry and Tuttle had violated a provision of Georgia’s Fair Housing Act, which makes it unlawful to refuse to rent a dwelling to a person because of race.

After the commission found reasonable cause to believe that there had been a discriminatory housing practice, the attorney general’s office filed a civil action against Embry and Tuttle.

A bench trial was held in Putnam County Superior Court, and on Nov. 23, Judge Hugh V. Wingfield III, found that Tuttle had violated the fair housing act and that Embry was vicariously liable for her actions, Olens’ statement said. Wingfield awarded Deanna Joseph $5,000 in damages and imposed a $3,000 civil penalty to be paid to the state of Georgia.

“Not only is racial discrimination immoral, it is against the law,” Olens said in the statement. “My office is fully committed to enforcing Georgia’s Fair Housing Act to protect Georgia citizens from discriminatory housing practices.”