A young Colombian au pair named Kelly Andrade won a $2.78 million court case after she discovered that her employer, a fast-food mogul named Michael Esposito, had secretly recorded her in various stages of undress using a hidden camera in her bedroom. Esposito, who was a La Rosa Grill franchisee, was eventually arrested on charges of unlawful surveillance. However, he was able to avoid jail time and instead received two years of probation and counseling, much to Andrade’s dismay. She felt that the payout in court was insufficient considering the ordeal she had been through, and expressed anger over the irreparable damage caused to her.
Andrade had undergone extensive training and was placed with Esposito in 2021 by Cultural Care Au Pair. Upon starting work with the family, she noticed Esposito constantly fiddling with the smoke detector in her bedroom, which raised suspicions. After investigating, she found a hidden camera inside the detector and discovered hundreds of recordings of herself in various states of undress. When Esposito returned to the house after her discovery, Andrade pretended to be asleep to make him leave, but ultimately had to escape through a window and spend the night outside, injuring her knee in the process.
Esposito was arrested after Andrade reported the incident to the police. However, he was able to withdraw his felony plea and pleaded down to a misdemeanor after completing counseling. This outcome left Andrade feeling like there were no consequences for Esposito’s actions, while she continued to suffer the emotional distress caused by the invasion of privacy. In a civil trial that followed, a jury ruled that Esposito must pay Andrade $2 million in damages, in addition to $780,000 for emotional distress, a total of $2.78 million in compensation.
Despite the victory in court, Andrade found it difficult to face Esposito during the trial, especially since he did not take the stand. She now lives in New Jersey with her husband and spoke out about her experience to encourage other au pairs and immigrants who may have been victims of abuse to speak up and report their aggressors. Through her story, Andrade hoped to empower others to seek justice and not be afraid to stand up against those who have wronged them. The case serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of protecting vulnerable workers and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.
