The son of a Hollywood director has been named in a Harvard-Westlake water polo abuse lawsuit
The civil lawsuit filed by Aidan Roman, who was a minor and a water polo player at the elite Harvard-Westlake school at the time of the alleged incidents, says he was repeatedly subjected to persistent racist and sexist intimidations at the hands of his teammates.
One of his teammates, Luca Van Der Woode, is named in the lawsuit, along with the school itself, school president Richard B. Cummins and boys water polo program head Jack Glover. Van der Wood is the son of Thomas “Basty” Van der Wood, a high-profile assistant director in Hollywood for shows such as “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Westworld” and “Ballard.”
Harvard-Westlake School at Coldwater Canyon in Studio City, California, on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Dean Musgrove/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
The young Van der Voude is considered an Olympian and at one time was a top recruit to play water polo at UCLA, one of the top college programs in the country. It’s unclear what his current status is with the team, but the lawsuit filed against him alleges shocking behavior.
“From August 2022 until February 2024, the plaintiff was Aidan Roman (who was then a minor). Sexual assault“He was harassed and insulted primarily by three teammates on the Harvard-Westlake water polo team — often in the presence of Harvard-Westlake agents and employees,” the lawsuit begins.
In 2022, Roman was the only freshman to make the Harvard-Westlake water polo team, but this abuse at the hands of Van der Wood began during his first practice, when the defendant allegedly “digitally penetrated” him underwater, the lawsuit says.
“The abuse was not spontaneous. Rather, it was part of a culture that had continued for years in which violence and humiliation had become normalized and facilitated by School coaching and administration staff“At Harvard-Westlake, sexual misconduct was treated as a ritual, and silence was the price of inclusion,” the suit says. To speak out was treason, to stay put was to stay quiet.”
Harvard-Westlake School at Coldwater Canyon in Studio City, California, on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Dean Musgrove/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
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According to the lawsuit, Roman was also prone to constantly using the N-word.
In another “A disturbing display of racismVan der Wood and another teammate who was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit allegedly “began whipping Plaintiff with a rope and then with a rubber band, a reference to slavery as they demanded that Plaintiff “go back to work!” While beating the plaintiff.”
Van der Wood was arrested in 2024 and later admitted in juvenile court to “sexual penetration with a foreign object (digital penetration) against a minor” as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, according to the lawsuit. In February 2025, he was ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to Roman.
Van der Woode denies the allegations.
“Luca van der Voede categorically and unequivocally denies all allegations against him,” his lawyer Keith Bremer told Fox News Digital. “These allegations are false. Luka has acted with integrity throughout his academic and athletic career, and he will not allow false accusations to define him now and/or in the future.”
“We have full confidence that the truth will emerge through the appropriate legal process and we look forward to providing a full defense for Luca,” Bremer said. “We will have no further comment while this matter is pending. We will submit actual legal documents supporting our position in the near future.”
The lawsuit alleges that Harvard-Westlake, which costs $54,900 to attend, knew about the violations, but failed to act.
The Weddington Golf and Tennis Club is scheduled to close permanently months after Harvard-Westlake officials announced that the school had purchased the facility from the Weddington family, on August 2, 2019. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Romain is said to now be living in Barcelona, where he continues his training.
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He added: “It was very difficult to deal with racist attacks and sexual assaults on a daily basis.” He told ABC7 In March.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Harvard-Westlake for comment.
Harvard-Westlake has previously denied the allegations.
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