A Manhattan jury has awarded $2.78 million to a “sneaky” au pair who Secretly videotaped by a creepy Staten Island dad and fast-food chicken mogul — but the victim is upset that he only got a “slap in the face” from prosecutors.
According to the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court, Michael Esposito, 35, recorded “hundreds” of nude videos of Kelly Andrade, a 25-year-old Colombian native, then tried to break down her door when she began shaking in fear after he found a hidden camera in her bedroom.
He was arrested in 2021 on charges 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 to leave, provided he undergoes counseling and completes two years of probation.
“It's not enough for what I've been through in the last three years. It's not enough,” Andrade told The Post, then broke down in tears. “I was angry because the damage he did to me is irreparable.”
This intriguing episode came to light in 2021.
The South American woman underwent hundreds of hours of training, then was hired by Cultural Care Au Pair — a placement firm — and came to the U.S., where the company placed her with Esposito, the owner of three LaRosa Grill franchises, and his wife, Danielle. The Espositos were living in the waterfront Tottenville home of Danielle's parents while their nearby $2.3 million mansion was being renovated.
According to the lawsuit, the Espositos gave Andrade a bedroom to sleep in while she cared for their four young children, but Au Pair claimed she kept catching Esposito in her room tampering with a ceiling-mounted smoke detector that was “constantly being relocated.”
Less than three weeks after starting the job, she checked the smoke detector, and found a camera inside it, with a memory card filled with “hundreds of recordings,” many of which showed her “nude and/or undressing,” she alleges in the suit.
Esposito arrived at the home within minutes of finding the device.
“When he got home he seemed very nervous and worried,” she recalled.
Andrade tried to pretend she was asleep to get Esposito out of there, but he was “banging on the door” and she went into “fight or flight mode,” she previously told The Post.
“I have to get away,” he said.
She jumped from a first-floor window, injuring her knee.
The first night after leaving the Espositos, Andrade “slept in a bush on the street,” her attorney, Zachary Holzberg, told the Post.
Andrade reported the incident to police at the 123rd Precinct, who arrested Esposito on March 24, 2021.
for their four young children, but Andrade claims she kept catching Espósito in her room,
According to the federal lawsuit, “the smoke detectors mounted on the ceiling were removed.” Facebook
But in April 2022, the Staten Island businessman “entered a two-step plea deal.” After “successfully completing” a year of counseling, Esposito was “allowed” to withdraw his felony plea and pleaded to attempted unlawful surveillance, a misdemeanor, with only two years of probation.
Andrade and Holzberg wanted to put Esposito behind bars.
In a four-day civil hearing in Brooklyn federal court this month, Andrade testified for three days. Esposito never testified.
Au Pair said she was “shocked” to be in the same room as Esposito.
Holzberg said he argued there were “no consequences” for Esposito, “who received probation … a slap on the wrist.”
The lawyer said: “Despite doing so, he is able to go to his wife and children at their home and his wife sleeps on the street.”
The jury awarded $780,000 in emotional distress damages against both Michael and his wife Danielle Esposito, and $2 million in punitive damages against the father.
“Right now I'm working on healing myself,” Andrade said. “It wasn't easy for me to attend the trial. It was a very difficult time for me. It brings back memories I'm trying to forget.”
Police in the 123rd Precinct on Staten Island. Provided by Derek Smith Law Group, PLLC
Andrade, who has lived in New Jersey with her husband for two years, said she is speaking out “to encourage the many au pairers and immigrants who have been victims of abuse. Don't be silent. Don't be afraid to report your assailant.”
Court documents show Andrade settled his lawsuit with Cultural Care au Pair last month for an undisclosed amount.
