NYC jury awards $2.78M to au pair who was secretly filmed by creepy chicken mogul
A Manhattan jury has awarded $2.78 million to a “petrified” au pair who was secretly videotaped by a creepy Staten Island dad and fast-food chicken mogul — but the victim is outraged he got only a “slap on the wrist” from prosecutors.
Michael Esposito, 35, recorded “hundreds” of nude videos of Colombia native Kelly Andrade, 25, then tried to break down her door as she cowered in fear after finding a hidden camera in her bedroom, according to a Brooklyn Federal Court lawsuit.
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 instead allowed Esposito to walk, provided he undergo counseling and satisfy two years probation.
“It’s not enough for the whole situation I’ve been through these three years. It’s not enough,” Andrade told The Post before breaking down in tears. “I was angry because the damage that he caused me is irreversible.”
The twisted episode unfolded in 2021.
The South American woman underwent hundreds of hours of training before being hired by Cultural Care Au Pair — a placement firm — and coming to the US, where the company situated her with Esposito, the owner of three LaRosa Grill franchises, and his wife, Danielle. The Espositos were staying in Danielle’s parents waterfront Tottenville home while their nearby $2.3 million mansion was being renovated.
The Espositos gave Andrade a bedroom to sleep in while she cared for their four young kids, but the au pair claimed she kept catching Esposito in her room, fiddling with the ceiling smoke detector, which “was constantly being repositioned,” according to the lawsuit.
Less than three weeks into the job, she examined the smoke detector, finding a camera inside with a memory card filled with “hundreds of recordings,” many capturing her “nude and/or dressing/undressing,” she charged in the lawsuit.
“Within minutes” of her finding the device, Esposito showed up at the house.
“He seemed very nervous and he seemed very worried when he arrived to the house,” she recalled.
Andrade tried to pretend she was sleeping in a bid to get Esposito to leave, but he was “banging on the door” and she entered “fight or flight mode,” she previously told The Post.
“I need to get away,” she recounted.
She leapt from a first-floor window, injuring her knee in the process.
The first night after leaving the Espositos, Andrade “slept on the street in a bush,” her attorney, Zachary Holzberg told The Post.
Andrade reported the incident to cops at the 123rd Precinct, who arrested Esposito March 24, 2021.
But in April 2022 the Staten Island businessman “entered into a two-step plea.” After “successfully completing” a year of counseling, Esposito “was permitted” to withdraw his felony plea and pled down to attempted unlawful surveillance, a misdemeanor, with only two years probation, the Staten Island DA’s office said.
Andrade and Holzberg wanted Esposito behind bars.
At the four-day civil trial this month in Brooklyn Federal Court, Andrade testified for three days. Esposito never took the stand.
The au pair said she was “in shock” just to be in the same room as Esposito.
Holzberg said he argued that “there was no consequence” for Esposito, “who got probation . . . a slap on the wrist.”
The attorney added: “Despite him doing this, he got to go home to is wife and children in their mansion and she’s sleeping on the street.”
The jury awarded $780,000 in emotional distress damages against both Michael and his wife Danielle Esposito, as well as $2 million in punitive damages against the dad.
“Right now I’m working on myself recovering,” Andrade said. “It wasn’t easy for me to be on a trial. It was a very difficult time for me. It brings back memories that I’m trying to forget.”
Andrade, who lives in New Jersey with her husband of two years, said she is speaking out “to encourage many au pairs and also immigrants who have been victims of abuse. Don’t keep quiet. Don’t be afraid to report your aggressor.”
Andrade settled her lawsuit with Cultural Care Au Pair last month for an undisclosed sum, court papers show.
