Overview
- The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, filed Friday, names Harvard-Westlake, its president Richard Commons, water polo coach Jack Grover, and player Lucca van der Woude, alleging a cover-up and a facilitated transfer that concealed discipline.
- Aidan Romain alleges repeated digital penetration and racial slurs from August 2022 to February 2024, says he and his parents reported misconduct to coaches and administrators, and claims the school failed to make required reports to authorities.
- Harvard-Westlake says it treated reports with urgency, complied with mandatory reporting, and cooperated with law enforcement, while disputing many claims as mischaracterizations.
- Van der Woude was arrested on campus around Feb. 28, 2024, and admitted in juvenile court on Nov. 7, 2024, to digitally penetrating a minor; he received probation and a no-contact order, and was later ordered to pay nearly $50,000 in restitution to Romain according to the complaint.
- Romain says the abuse forced him to leave the school and relocate to Barcelona to continue training, and he seeks damages and a court-ordered plan to prevent future student abuse, as Van der Woude’s attorneys deny the civil allegations.