A nanny has been awarded $2.78 million compensation by a jury in Manhattan after she found out that she was secretly videotaped by her millionaire boss. In her lawsuit, the nanny said that she discovered hundred of hours of footage of herself nude/dressing/undressing.
According to a report by Yahoo News, 28-year-old Kelly Andrade came from Colombia to New York in 2021. She was hired by Michael Esposito, 35, and his wife Danielle as the governess to take care of their four children. Esposito had installed a camera inside the smoke detector of the room allotted to Andrade.
As per the report, Michael Esposito is a fast-food chicken mogul and owner of three LaRosa Grill franchises.
In the lawsuit, Andrade said that she was hired by a placement firm Cultural Care Au Pair. She lived at the waterfront home of Danielle’s parents on Staten Island as the couple’s own mansion was under renovation.
Soon after starting her job, Andrade grew suspicious of her boss as Esposito used to fiddle with the smoke detector frequently. He would reposition the smoke detector installed in the ceiling of Andrade's room.
Three weeks into her job, one day, Andrade decided to examine the smoke detector and to her shock, found a tiny camera hidden inside. The camera had a memory card full of her recordings, the lawsuit said.
Soon after Andrade discovered the camera, Esposito showed up at the house "very nervous and worried''. Andrade pretended to be asleep to ward off Esposito but he kept banging the door.
Fearing for her life, the nanny jumped out of the first floor window, injuring her knees and ran away.
As per a report of The New York Post, the next day she filed a complaint with the police and handed them the footage, following which Esposito was arrested on March 24, 2021.
During his trial, Esposito was ordered to undergo counselling and satisfy two years probation. He was also ordered to pay US$780,000 in emotional distress damages as well as $2 million in punitive damages — totalling $2.8 million.
Andrade is, however, not satisfied with the compensation awarded to her.
Terming the damages incurred on her 'irreversible, she said, “It’s not enough for the whole situation I’ve been through these three years. It’s not enough.”