Water polo star abused minor before racist sex assault lawsuit: new report

A water polo player accused of sexually abusing and racially harassing a teammate at an elite Los Angeles school had previously been convicted of sexually assaulting another teammate, court records reveal.

The accused athlete, Lucca van der Woude, admitted in juvenile court to sexual penetration of a minor with a foreign object, and was ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution in November 2024, according to court records reviewed by the Daily Mail.

Van der Woude was arrested on Harvard-Westlake’s campus in February 2024 after another parent complained to police that their son had also been abused, the outlet reported.

By that time 17, he was ordered to complete probation and pay $50,000 in restitution under a plea deal with Los Angeles County prosecutors that dropped a more serious charge — the restitution remains unpaid, per the outlet.

Van der Woude did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The family of a black water polo player, Aidan Romain, who says he was sexually abused and racially harassed by van der Woude at the elite Harvard-Westlake School was forced to sell their beloved six-bedroom $5 million Bel Air mansion after pulling him out of the school and sending him to Europe, according to the Daily Mail.

Romain’s parents sold their six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home in 2024 after withdrawing their son from Harvard-Westlake and relocating him overseas so he could continue training and schooling away from the alleged abuse, the outlet reported.

The six-bedroom Bel Air property sold in November 2024 for $5,149,000, according to Redfin. The 4,900-square-foot home sits on a more than 21,000-square-foot lot and features amenities including a game room with a surround-sound theater setup, a pool, basketball court and a private balcony off the primary suite, the listing shows.

Romain says he was subjected to months of racial harassment and sexual abuse by van der Woude while both were students at the exclusive Los Angeles school, according to a lawsuit filed last week.

The accused water polo phenom is the son of a Hollywood director who has worked on blockbuster films including “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Cast Away.”

The lawsuit also claims van der Woude once joked in front of coaches that he contracted conjunctivitis after “digitally penetrating his teammates before rubbing his eyes,” according to the complaint cited by the Daily Mail.

Romain ultimately left the United States to continue playing water polo in Europe after being withdrawn from Harvard-Westlake amid the alleged abuse.

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