An 18-year-old Black water polo player has filed a civil lawsuit against one of Los Angeles's most prestigious private schools, alleging years of sexual assault and racist abuse by teammates while coaches and administrators looked the other way.

Aidan Romain, who grew up in Bel Air and dreams of one day competing in the Olympics, filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday against Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City, school president Richard B. Commons, boys water polo program head Jack Grover, and former teammate Lucca van der Woude. The lawsuit alleges that the abuse began at Romain's very first varsity practice in August 2022, when he was just 14 years old and the only freshman on the team.

According to the complaint, Van der Woude digitally penetrated Romain repeatedly, in the pool, the locker room, the showers, the weight room, and even on a staircase, from August 2022 through January 2024. The suit also names former teammate Connor Kim, now a player at Harvard University, as a participant in racial abuse against Romain.

"It was very difficult on a daily basis to deal with the racial abuse and the sexual abuse," Romain said. "It happened in nearly every training; it would happen many times daily, sometimes outside of the pool."

The lawsuit paints a disturbing picture of daily racist harassment. According to the complaint, Van der Woude and Kim called Romain a shortened form of the N-word "virtually every single day for five months." The suit also alleges that the two players whipped Romain in the weight room with a jump rope "in a re-enactment of slavery," shouting, "Get back to work!" They also mocked his skin tone, claiming they couldn't see him because he was too dark, and called him the team's "secret weapon" at night games for the same reason.

During a spring 2023 team trip to Barcelona, Spain, the complaint says a chaperone struck another Black player across the head for objecting to a teammate chanting a racial slur. Athletic director Matt LaCour and Coach Grover, who were both on the trip, told Romain they didn't believe his account — even though, the lawsuit says, the player later admitted to using the slur.

Romain says he stayed silent for months, terrified that speaking up would cost him his spot on the team and his shot at a college scholarship and Olympic career. When he finally reported the abuse, first to coaches and later to school administrators, the complaint alleges that Harvard-Westlake failed to act.

In October 2023, when school officials questioned Van der Woude and Kim about the racial harassment, both players admitted to the conduct described in a letter Romain's parents had sent to school administrators, according to the complaint. Yet neither was removed from the team.

In December 2023, Romain and a second student, identified in the suit only as "Victim Two," both reported to school deans that Van der Woude had sexually assaulted them. The suit alleges that despite this direct report, Harvard-Westlake did not contact law enforcement or child protective services, as required by California law. Instead, when four other players denied the account, a dean told them the school "could not do anything," the complaint says.

Van der Woude was eventually arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on the Harvard-Westlake campus in February 2024.

"Harvard-Westlake had a legal obligation to report the abuse and protect Plaintiff," the lawsuit states. "And its failure to honor its obligations directly resulted in the continued abuse that Plaintiff was forced to endure."

The complaint also alleges that after Romain's parents reported a separate shower assault on February 20, 2024, the school's response was to suspend Romain for four games rather than protect him.

Van der Woude admitted in Los Angeles County Juvenile Court in November 2024 to sexual penetration with a foreign object against a minor. A court ordered him to pay nearly $50,000 in restitution to Romain. Despite his arrest, court admission, and a no-contact order, Van der Woude transferred to Newport Harbor High School, led that school to a CIF title, represented Team USA internationally, and in December 2024 was enlisted by USA Water Polo to mentor young athletes at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was later informed he would not be admitted to UCLA and instead played for Golden West College.

Van der Woude's attorney, Michael Artan, said his client "denies all the allegations" and that his "denials and other responses will be clear and unambiguous in his defense to the Complaint at hand."

In a statement, Harvard-Westlake said it "unequivocally disputes many of these allegations that mischaracterize facts and the school's actions." The school said it treated reports of inappropriate behavior "with urgency and seriousness, promptly initiating an investigation and complying with its mandatory reporting obligations," and that it "cooperated completely with law enforcement." Coach Grover, Kim, and Commons did not respond to requests for comment.

Romain's father, Alex Romain, an attorney, struggled to contain his emotions when describing the ordeal. "The problem is that our son said, 'I would like not to be called a n----r anymore,'" Alex said. "Why didn't the school say, 'This is not how we are. This is not how we act'?"

Romain left Harvard-Westlake at the end of his sophomore year and moved to Barcelona, where he continues to train and pursue his Olympic dream. His attorney, Daniel Watkins, called the case "a profound and unforgivable injustice," adding, "We welcome our day in court."

"Victim Two's" attorney, Jessica Pride, says her client also intends to file a civil suit against the school.

The complaint demands a jury trial and seeks damages to be proven at trial, as well as a court order requiring Harvard-Westlake to take concrete steps to prevent future sexual abuse of students.

Gary and Shannon

Join the conversation with Yappa