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Michael Esposito is a Staten Island, New York dad who is accused of secretly filming his former live-in nanny, Kelly Andrade, nude in hundreds of videos, according to the New York Post.
Esposito was charged with a felony count of unlawful surveillance after Andrade, 25, reported finding a hidden camera in March, the New York Post reported. She recently filed a lawsuit against Cultural Care Au Pair, a company which placed her in the Esposito home. She claimed in the lawsuit the company did nothing to help her, the article said.
Esposito denied the allegations through his attorney, according to the Staten Island Advance. Esposito lives in an $800,000 waterfront home in Tottenville with his wife, Danielle, and four young children, according to the Post. He is the owner of three La Rosa Grill franchises, the article said.
Here’s what you need to know:
Andrade Filed a Lawsuit Against Cultural Care Au Pair & Said She Fled for Her Life After Discovering the Hidden Camera
Who is Michael Esposito? Staten Island dad sued for secretly recording live-in nanny t.co/8fg78oaBXT
Andrade filed a lawsuit through the Brooklyn Federal Court which said that Cultural Care Au Pair did not protect her over the course of her employment, according to the New York Post, which reviewed the court documents. The Columbian native moved to Staten Island after she was hired through the company, and the incident left her unemployed and “suicidal,” the lawsuit said, according to the Post.
“We’re alleging that Cultural Care had a responsibility for her safety,” Andrade’s lawyer, Zachary Holzberg, told the Post.
She told the Post through a translator that she took hundreds of hours of training before Cultural Care Au Pair placed her with the Esposito family. Andrade told the Post she was “excited for the job, which gave her a chance to learn English and embrace a new culture.”
Esposito Denied the Allegations Through His Attorney & Claimed the Camera Was for Security Purposes
The Staten Island Advance spoke to Esposito’s attorney following his arrest March 24, 2021, who claimed the camera was used for security purposes. Esposito was 35 at the time of his arrest. The criminal complaint reviewed by the news outlet said the camera was placed in Andrade’s bedroom above her bed and captured videos of her undressing.
“It’s my camera, it’s a nanny cam,” Esposito told police, according to the Staten Island Advance.
Police added in court documents reviewed by the news outlet that Andrade “did not have knowledge of the surveillance device and did not give the defendant permission or authority to record her in any way.” After he was charged with a felony, he was released on his own recognizance, and a new court date was set, the article said.
The New York Post described Andrade’s account of her fear and escape after she discovered she was being filmed. She said Esposito arrived home “within minutes” of her discovering the camera, and said that he seemed “very worried” and “very nervous,” the article said. The Post reported she pretended she was sleeping but said that Esposito kept “banging on the door” and she entered “fight or flight mode.”
Andrade said she jumped from a first-floor window, which was over an above-ground basement, and ran until she felt safe enough to look up the nearest police station.
“I felt very afraid,” she told the Post, “on top of what had just happened, now I don’t have a place to stay, I’m in a completely unknown country, I’m alone. I don’t have any money, I don’t know what I’m going to eat, I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow.”
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