A Manhattan jury has awarded $2.7 million to a live-in nanny who found herself being secretly videotaped by her billionaire boss. Kelly Andrade discovered a hidden camera in her smoke detector that contained hundreds of hours of footage of her naked, Yahoo News reported.
Nanny discovers hidden camera in her room (image)
The camera was installed by Michael Esposito, 35, who owns three LaRosa Grill franchises, and Andrade had been hired to look after Esposito’s children.
According to reports, Andrade flew from Colombia to New York in 2021 to work as an au pair for Michael Esposito and his wife, Danielle’s, four children. She was hired by the recruitment agency Cultural Care Au Pair and lived in Danielle’s parents’ beach home in Tottenville, Staten Island, while the couple’s mansion was undergoing renovations.
Andrade quickly became suspicious of his supervisor because Esposito would frequently tamper with the smoke detectors in his room, which he would often see tampering with the smoke detectors on the ceiling, which “were constantly being moved around,” according to the lawsuit.
Just three weeks into her new job, she checked her smoke detector and discovered a small camera hidden inside. The memory card was filled with “hundreds of recordings,” many of which captured her “nude and/or getting dressed,” according to the lawsuit.
Esposito reportedly showed up at the home minutes after the camera was discovered. “When he got there he seemed very nervous and very anxious,” Andrade said.
The live-in nanny pretended to be asleep to shoo Esposito away, but Esposito “kept banging on the door.”
Believing the attacker might have a weapon, Andrade jumped out of a first-floor window to escape, injuring his knee and spending the night in the bushes on the street.
The next day, she went to police and handed over the footage, the New York Post reported. Esposito was arrested on March 24, 2021.
Light punishment
But Andrade is unhappy with the verdict. Esposito was ordered to undergo counseling and be on probation for two years. He was also ordered to pay $780,000 in emotional distress damages and $2 million in punitive damages, for a total of $2.8 million.
His former employees feel this is merely a light punishment.
“Given what I’ve been through these last three years, this is not enough. It’s not good enough,” Andrade told The Washington Post. “I was angry because the damage he’s done to me is irreparable.”
