Sand Castle catering employee accused in lawsuit of sexually abusing 3 teen servers
Former servers at the Franklin Square wedding venue Sand Castle have filed a federal lawsuit alleging they were sexually abused by a manager there when they were underage employees. Credit: Howard Schnapp
A former staffer of a Franklin Square wedding venue has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually harassing and assaulting three underage teens who worked there as servers and punishing them after they resisted his advances.
The suit, filed by the three teens, says staffer Enrique “Ricky” Sanchez abused them, and accuses Sand Castle Caterers company owner Nicholaos Boultadakis and the Franklin Avenue company of sex discrimination, retaliation and maintaining a hostile work environment.
It describes Sanchez as the boys’ manager. Most of the alleged conduct took place between April 2022 and August 2023, according to the suit, filed March 30 in federal court in the Eastern District of New York.
The suit, which asks for lost wages and unspecified damages, does not name the teens, all Nassau County residents who were 15 at the time of the alleged conduct and who are still minors.
The boys, who no longer work at the catering hall, are “scared and scarred,” their Manhattan-based lawyer, Jitesh Dudani, said in an interview Monday. “They will suffer from this trauma through their entire lives.”
Dudani said his clients were the children of first-generation immigrants whose incomes helped defray household expenses. They kept working through the events described in the suit, he said, because “they needed the work … They’re not from affluent families.”
A lawyer for Sand Castle, Floral Park-based John Ryan, said in a phone interview that “the lawsuit has absolutely no merit and will be dealt with accordingly.”
Ryan has previously said in legal documents that Sanchez was a server, not a manager at Sand Castle, and the boys did not notify management at the time of the alleged conduct. He also has said when management did learn of the allegations later, Sanchez was suspended, then terminated.
Newsday could not reach Sanchez or a lawyer representing him.
The suit alleges Sanchez made sexual comments, kissed and groped each boy, and sexually assaulted two of the boys. The behavior began within weeks of the start of each boy’s employment at the wedding venue, according to the lawsuit. When the teens objected, Sanchez retaliated by denying them breaks or assigning them extra plates to carry, according to the suit.
Last August, when Dudani notified Sand Castle of the legal action, Boultadakis called the boys into his office and offered them $2,000 each to end the case, then warned that a legal case would go on “forever,” according to the suit.
Later in that visit, according to the suit, he told the teens: “If you make the decision to stop this case, I’ll take care of you guys, or I will go all the way through because you have no case.” Dudani said his clients had recounted the conversation.
The suit alleges that Boultadakis would have witnessed the behavior from security camera footage that played on monitors on his desk. It says two of the plaintiffs did not complain to management because they feared doing so would get them fired.
Dudani said he did not know if the boys or their families had gone to police. “They didn’t want to discuss that angle … This was horrid conduct, but ultimately it’s up to the guardians of the children to decide what avenues they are comfortable pursuing.”
Nassau police spokesman Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said in an email that the department had no information on the case. Nassau district attorney spokesman Brendan Brosh referred a request for comment to the police.
A former staffer of a Franklin Square wedding venue has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually harassing and assaulting three underage teens who worked there as servers and punishing them after they resisted his advances.
The suit, filed by the three teens, says staffer Enrique “Ricky” Sanchez abused them, and accuses Sand Castle Caterers company owner Nicholaos Boultadakis and the Franklin Avenue company of sex discrimination, retaliation and maintaining a hostile work environment.
It describes Sanchez as the boys’ manager. Most of the alleged conduct took place between April 2022 and August 2023, according to the suit, filed March 30 in federal court in the Eastern District of New York.
The suit, which asks for lost wages and unspecified damages, does not name the teens, all Nassau County residents who were 15 at the time of the alleged conduct and who are still minors.
WHAT TO KNOW
- A lawsuit alleges that an employee of the Sand Castle catering hall sexually abused three underage servers.
- The suit also accused the catering hall management of failing to stop the abuse and retaliating against the teens when legal action was threatened.
- A lawyer for Sand Castle, which since fired the employee, has denied the allegations and said the suit has no merit.
The boys, who no longer work at the catering hall, are “scared and scarred,” their Manhattan-based lawyer, Jitesh Dudani, said in an interview Monday. “They will suffer from this trauma through their entire lives.”
Dudani said his clients were the children of first-generation immigrants whose incomes helped defray household expenses. They kept working through the events described in the suit, he said, because “they needed the work … They’re not from affluent families.”
A lawyer for Sand Castle, Floral Park-based John Ryan, said in a phone interview that “the lawsuit has absolutely no merit and will be dealt with accordingly.”
Ryan has previously said in legal documents that Sanchez was a server, not a manager at Sand Castle, and the boys did not notify management at the time of the alleged conduct. He also has said when management did learn of the allegations later, Sanchez was suspended, then terminated.
Newsday could not reach Sanchez or a lawyer representing him.
The suit alleges Sanchez made sexual comments, kissed and groped each boy, and sexually assaulted two of the boys. The behavior began within weeks of the start of each boy’s employment at the wedding venue, according to the lawsuit. When the teens objected, Sanchez retaliated by denying them breaks or assigning them extra plates to carry, according to the suit.
Last August, when Dudani notified Sand Castle of the legal action, Boultadakis called the boys into his office and offered them $2,000 each to end the case, then warned that a legal case would go on “forever,” according to the suit.
Later in that visit, according to the suit, he told the teens: “If you make the decision to stop this case, I’ll take care of you guys, or I will go all the way through because you have no case.” Dudani said his clients had recounted the conversation.
The suit alleges that Boultadakis would have witnessed the behavior from security camera footage that played on monitors on his desk. It says two of the plaintiffs did not complain to management because they feared doing so would get them fired.
Dudani said he did not know if the boys or their families had gone to police. “They didn’t want to discuss that angle … This was horrid conduct, but ultimately it’s up to the guardians of the children to decide what avenues they are comfortable pursuing.”
Nassau police spokesman Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said in an email that the department had no information on the case. Nassau district attorney spokesman Brendan Brosh referred a request for comment to the police.
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Looking for a pizza spot or fresh cup of coffee? NewsdayTV has places you can eat at this weekend.
