A nanny has won a huge $2 million settlement after a billionaire father of four allegedly recorded hundreds of nude videos of her on a camera hidden in a smoke detector.
Colombian-born Kelly Andrade, 25, lived with Michael Esposito, 35, and his family in a luxury mansion on Staten Island, New York.
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Kelly Andrade, 25, a native of Colombia, is suing Michael Esposito, the father of her four children.
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According to court documents, Kelly Andrade was filmed by a secret camera hidden in a smoke detector above her bed.
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Michael Esposito, pictured, was arrested after Andrade discovered the hidden camera.
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Other recordings show Kelly in broad daylight. Credit: Derek Smith Law Office
According to the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court, Esposito, a fast-food chicken mogul, tried to force open the door of his terrified wife after she discovered a hidden camera in their bedroom.
He was detained in 2021 on suspicion of illegal surveillance, a crime that can carry a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
However, Esposito was granted permission for release by the Staten Island District Attorney and a Staten Island judge on the condition that he receive two years of probation and undergo counseling.
A Manhattan jury has awarded $2.78 million in damages to an au pair who was outraged that her billionaire former boss received only a “light punishment” from prosecutors.
An emotional Andrade told the New York Post: “Considering what I’ve been through these last three years, this is not enough. It’s not good enough.”
“I was angry because the damage he did to me is irreparable.”
The South American completed hundreds of hours of training before being hired by the staffing agency Cultural Care Au Pair and traveling to the United States.
The group then introduced her to Esposito and his wife, Danielle, who own three LaRosa Grill franchises.
While renovations were taking place on the $2.3 million property next door, the Espositos were living in a lakeside Tottenville home owned by Daniel’s parents.
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The Espositos gave Andrade a bedroom to sleep in while they looked after their four young children.
But according to the lawsuit, the au pair frequently witnessed Esposito in the room tampering with the smoke detector on the ceiling, which was “constantly being moved.”
Andrade filed the lawsuit, alleging that less than three weeks into her new job, she checked her smoke detector and found the camera and memory card filled with “hundreds of recordings,” many of which showed her “naked and/or getting dressed.”
Esposito arrived at the residence “within minutes” of discovering the device.
“When he got home he seemed very nervous and very anxious,” she recalled.
The young nanny previously told the New York Post that she tried to pretend to be asleep to get Esposito to leave, but he “kept banging on the door” and she went into “fight or flight mode.”
“I had to get away,” she said, adding that she jumped from a first-floor window and injured her knee.
On her first night away from the Espositos’ house, Andrade “slept in the bushes on the street,” her lawyer, Zachary Holtzberg, told the outlet.
Andrade then reported the incident to police, who arrested Esposito on March 24, 2021.
However, the Staten Island businessman “entered a two-stage plea agreement” in April 2022.
According to the Staten Island District Attorney’s Office, he was “allowed” to withdraw his felony plea and charged with attempted unlawful surveillance, a misdemeanor that carries just two years of supervised probation after “successfully completing” one year of counseling.
I was angry because the damage he had done to me was irreparable.
Kelly Andrade Au Pair
Andrade wants Esposito jailed, and testified for three days during a four-day civil trial in Brooklyn federal court this month.
According to the New York Post, Esposito never took the stand, but the defendant was “shocked” just to be in the same room as him.
Holtzberg argued that the president of the chicken franchise “received no punishment” and “received a suspended sentence…a light punishment.”
He added: “Despite what he has done, he gets to go home to his mansion with his wife and children, while his wife sleeps on the street.”
The jury awarded the father $2 million in punitive damages and an additional $780,000 in damages for emotional distress.
Andrade said she was focused on recovering from the trial, after having to “relive” moments she had tried to forget.
The Colombian woman, who lives in New Jersey with her husband of two years, said she was speaking out to encourage other au pairs and immigrants who have been “victims of abuse.”
Andrade settled her lawsuit with Cultural Care Au Pair last month for an undisclosed fee, according to court documents.
