A Manhattan jury has awarded $2.78 million in damages to an au pair who was secretly videotaped and “frozen out” by a creepy Staten Island dad and fast-food chicken mogul, but the victim is outraged that she received only a “light punishment” from prosecutors.
According to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court, Michael Esposito, 35, recorded “hundreds” of nude videos of Kelly Andrade, 25, of Colombia, then tried to break down Andrade's door after she became horrified when she discovered a hidden camera in her bedroom.
He was arrested in 2021 on a charge of unlawful surveillance, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, but the Staten Island district attorney and a Staten Island judge allowed Esposito's release on the condition he undergoes counseling and completes two years of probation.
“Considering what I've been through these last three years, this is not enough. It's not good enough,” Andrade told The Post through tears. “I was angry because the damage he did to me is irreparable.”
An unexpected episode that occurred in 2021.
After hundreds of hours of training, the South American was hired by Cultural Care Au Pair, a recruitment agency, and flown to the United States, where the agency introduced her to Esposito, owner of three LaRosa Grill franchises, and his wife, Danielle, who were staying with Danielle's parents in seaside Tottenville while their $2.3 million mansion nearby was being renovated.
The Espositos had given Andrade a bedroom to sleep in while they cared for their four young children, but the au pair claimed she had repeatedly seen Esposito in her room tampering with the ceiling smoke detector, according to the lawsuit.
Less than three weeks into her job, she checked a smoke detector and found a camera inside with a memory card containing “hundreds of recordings,” many of which showed her “nude and/or getting dressed,” the lawsuit alleges.
Esposito showed up at the house “within minutes” of her finding the device.
“When he got home he seemed very nervous and very anxious,” she recalled.
Andrade 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,” she previously told The Post.
“I want to get away from here,” she said.
She jumped from a first-floor window and injured her knee in the process.
On her first night away from the Espositos, Andrade “slept in the bushes on the street,” her lawyer, Zachary Holtzberg, told The Post.
Andrade reported the incident to officers from the 123rd Precinct, who arrested Esposito on March 24, 2021.
With four young children, Andrade said Esposito was in his room.
“A smoke detector in the ceiling failed,” according to the federal lawsuit. Facebook
But in April 2022, the Staten Island businessman “entered into a two-step plea agreement.” After “successfully completing” a year of counseling, Esposito was “allowed” to drop his felony plea deal, which was reduced to a misdemeanor of attempted unlawful surveillance and he was placed on probation for just two years, the Staten Island District Attorney's Office said.
Andrade and Holtzberg wanted Esposito behind bars.
During the four-day civil trial in Brooklyn federal court this month, Andrade testified for three days; Esposito did not take the stand.
The au pair said she was “shocked” just being in the same room as Esposito.
Holtzberg maintained that Esposito “did not receive any punishment whatsoever,” saying he “was only given probation, which was a minor punishment.”
The lawyer added: “He has done all this and yet he is able to go home to his wife and children in their luxury home while his wife sleeps on the street.”
The jury awarded Michael and his wife, Danielle Esposito, $780,000 in emotional damages and $2 million in punitive damages to the father.
“Right now I'm trying to recover,” Andrade said. “Going to trial wasn't easy for me. It was a very difficult time for me. It brings back memories that I wanted to forget.”
Police officers from the 123rd Precinct on Staten Island. Courtesy of Derek Smith Law Group, PLLC
“I'm speaking out to encourage the many au pairs and immigrants who have been victims of abuse. Don't be silent. Don't be afraid to report abusers,” said Andrade, who lives in New Jersey with her husband of two years.
Andrade settled her lawsuit with Cultural Care Au Pair last month for an undisclosed amount, according to court documents.
