$2.78 Million Jury Verdict

Case Handled by The Derek Smith Law Group Attorney Zachary Holzberg

United States District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn Federal Court)

A Brooklyn federal jury awarded $2.78 million to a live-in childcare worker who was secretly recorded hundreds of times in various stages of undress by the head of the household where she was placed. The plaintiff, who came to the U.S. through a formal au pair program, was awarded both emotional distress and punitive damages after enduring gross privacy violations, intimidation, and post-incident homelessness.

Case Summary

The plaintiff, a young immigrant woman, came to the U.S. after undergoing hundreds of hours of childcare training in her home country. She was placed with a family residing in Tottenville, Staten Island, while their primary residence — a multimillion-dollar waterfront home — was under renovation nearby.

Within weeks of placement, the plaintiff noticed the male head of household frequently entering her bedroom and tampering with the smoke detector on the ceiling. Suspicious of the activity, she inspected the device and discovered a hidden camera containing a memory card filled with hundreds of nude recordings of her.

Moments after the discovery, the employer returned to the house. The plaintiff, fearing for her safety, pretended to be asleep, but he began banging on her bedroom door. Entering what she described as “fight or flight mode,” she leapt out of the first-floor window, injuring her knee, and spent that night sleeping in a bush on the street.

She reported the incident the next day. The employer was arrested and charged with unlawful surveillance, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. However, following a two-step plea deal, he pled down to attempted unlawful surveillance, a misdemeanor, after completing a year of counseling. He was sentenced to two years of probation and avoided jail time entirely.

Civil Trial and Verdict

The plaintiff pursued a civil claim with the representation of The Derek Smith Law Group. During the four-day civil trial, she testified for three days. The defendant never took the stand.

A Brooklyn jury awarded:

• $780,000 in emotional distress damages (against both the defendant and his spouse)
• $2,000,000 in punitive damages (against the defendant individually)

Total: $2,780,000

The plaintiff’s legal team emphasized the disparity between the criminal outcome and the civil justice achieved. As attorney Zachary Holzberg stated:

“Despite him doing this, he got to go home to his wife and children in their mansion — and she was sleeping on the street. There was no consequence. He got probation… a slap on the wrist.”

Statement and Impact

Following the trial, the plaintiff publicly spoke out to encourage other survivors:

“It wasn’t easy for me to be in a trial. It brings back memories that I’m trying to forget. But I want to speak out to encourage many other caretakers and immigrants who’ve been victims of abuse: don’t keep quiet. Don’t be afraid to report your aggressor.”

She later reached a confidential settlement with the childcare placement agency involved in the case.

Legal Significance

This case sheds light on the vulnerability of domestic workers, especially immigrants, and the disturbing misuse of surveillance technology to violate bodily privacy in trusted environments. It also underscores the limitations of criminal proceedings in delivering justice — and the power of civil litigation in holding wrongdoers accountable.