The embattled son of a Hollywood director is fighting back against the water polo star who accused him of disgusting underwater sex attacks.
Lucca Van der Woude’s legal team filed a motion to strike large swaths of accuser Aidan Romain’s complaint, according to court documents obtained by the California Post.
His legal team marked 72 sections of Romain’s complaint to be stricken from the record for “groundless and irrelevant references to highly disparaging comments, news articles, sealed and confidential records of juvenile proceedings,” and for allegedly disclosing confidential student records.
“The Legislature has erected the strongest possible confidentiality protections around juvenile court proceedings and records,” Van Der Woude’s attorneys wrote in court papers filed Tuesday with Judge Lauren A. R. Lofton before an Aug. 6 hearing. “Plaintiff has chosen to weaponize those records, attaching them as exhibits to a publicly filed verified complaint.”
In the complaint, Romain accuses Van der Woude of grabbing his butt and inserting his finger in it. He also accuses Van der Woude and other teammates of racism against him, saying there were multiple instances in which he was racially targeted and called slurs, including a short form of the N-word.
Van der Woude was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault in February at the elite Harvard-Westlake school he attended with Romain.
On November 7, 2024, he was admitted to juvenile court for sexual penetration with a foreign object against a minor under a plea deal; the charge involving Aidan was later dropped.
One of the key parts of the complaint Van der Woude is looking to strike is a part of the reporting within the complaint from the Orange County Register that says Van der Woude “admitted in Los Angeles County Juvenile Division Court … to sexual penetration with a foreign object (digital penetration) against a minor” as part of a plea agreement with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
Another section Van der Woude is trying to strike discusses racism and antisemitism allegations against Van der Woude.
It says that Van der Woude expressed “racist, antisemitic, and white-nationalist beliefs during the period in which he sexually and physically abused Plaintiff and other students.”
An anonymous witness told Romain’s attorney, Daniel Watkins, that Van der Woude “had a history of making antisemitic remarks while interacting with peers online and in person” and that he “referred to a Jewish peer using antisemitic slurs and stated words to the effect of: ‘You stupid Jew, die in the oven.’”
Much of what Van der Woude’s legal team is trying to strike from the record comes from the OC Register’s reporting, which comes from confidential juvenile court proceedings.
The motion to strike filing states: “Plaintiff’s reliance on the OC Register Article as the conduit for pleading the substance of the juvenile proceedings does not provide an independent basis for inclusion of this information.”
“Media reporting that itself draws upon confidential juvenile records does not launder those records into usable civil allegations, nor does it create a ‘public domain’ exception to section,” they added.
“A newspaper may choose to report on a juvenile matter—and this Court need not, and this motion does not, seek to unring that bell.”
Van der Woude attorney Lea E. Gierut wrote in an accompanying filing that she attempted to resolve differences with Romain’s legal team as recently as July 2, but her efforts failed. She said the two parties “remained at an impasse on several key issues” at their last meeting.
“Despite my efforts, the parties were unable to resolve objections raised during the meet and confer process,” she wrote.
Other allegations leveled at Van der Woude include that he and a teammate “whipped” Romain in the weight room with a sports-equipment-grade jump rope in what the suit describes as “a re-enactment of slavery,” while saying, “Get back to work!”
He said Van der Woude “constantly dehumanized” him and used the N-word slur regularly.
“They weren’t trying to hide it,” Aidan said. “When the lights would turn off, they would say, ‘Where’s Aidan?’ or ‘Where’s arbitrary black person?’”
Court proceedings will continue next month in Romain’s lawsuit against Van der Woude, Harvard-Westlake, and high-ranking school officials.
Van Der Woude has maintained his innocence in the accusation of harassment against him.
His attorneys said: “We do not intend to litigate this matter in the media. Mr. Van der Woude’s denials and other responses will be clear and unambiguous in his defense to the Complaint at hand.”
Read the full article here
