Attorneys seek deposition of Harvard student in Harvard-Westlake abuse lawsuit

Attorneys for a former Harvard-Westlake School student who alleges he endured racist and sexual and racist abuse from water polo teammates are seeking to question a Harvard University student accused in court papers of participating in racially charged harassment.

Aidan Romain, who is Black, alleges in his Alhambra Superior Court lawsuit that he was repeatedly sexually assaulted, harassed and subjected to racist abuse while attending the Studio City private school.

The lawsuit names Harvard-Westlake, school President Richard B. Commons, water polo coach Jack Grover and Romain’s former teammate Lucca Van Der Woude as defendants. It alleges a culture in which violence and humiliation were normalized and enabled by members of the coaching staff and administration.

Romain’s attorneys are now seeking a commission allowing them to depose Connor Kim, a former Harvard-Westlake water polo teammate who is not a defendant in the lawsuit. Court papers describe Kim as a rising sophomore at Harvard University who was a member of its water polo team during the school year.

Because Kim is outside California, Romain’s attorneys are seeking authorization to ask a court where he resides to issue a subpoena for his deposition.

The plaintiff’s attorneys allege in court papers that Kim and Van Der Woude whipped Romain with exercise bands in the Harvard-Westlake weight room in what they characterize as a re-enactment of slavery and used a racial slur against him.

“Connor Kim and Lucca Van Der Woude openly boasted that they would give themselves permission to use the (‘N’ word) if their team won a particular game or tournament,” Romain’s attorneys allege.

The lawyers also claim the pair referred to Romain as the team’s “secret weapon” during night games because opposing players could not see him in the pool because of his skin color.

Kim also allegedly mocked Romain about his ancestors having been enslaved and forced to pick crops, according to the plaintiff’s court papers.

Romain alleges that between August 2022 and February 2024, while he was a minor, he was sexually assaulted, harassed, and humiliated by Van Der Woude and other water polo teammates, sometimes in the presence of Harvard-Westlake employees. The lawsuit alleges misconduct occurred in the weight room and beneath the surface of the pool.

Romain and Van Der Woude are now adults and no longer attend Harvard-Westlake.

Attorneys for Harvard-Westlake, Grover and Commons, have disputed Romain’s claims. In previous court filings, they argued that his allegations do not support his claims for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil rights violations.

The defense attorneys have also argued that the allegations concerning Commons are limited to his previous role as headmaster of another school where sexual abuse between students allegedly occurred.