Massachusetts

Robert Kraft Seeks to Block Video Evidence Release in Prostitution Case: Court Docs

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft faces two misdemeanor counts of soliciting another for prostitution in connection with a widespread prostitution and human trafficking sting

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has filed a motion with 14 other defendants in a widespread soliciting prostitution sting seeking to suppress evidence, including video surveillance, from being released to the public.

The motion, filed in Palm Beach County on Wednesday, comes after Kraft was charged alongside dozens of other men in February in connection with a months-long investigation into human trafficking at illicit massage parlors in Florida.

In the filing, attorneys argue that the video evidence investigators gathered using hidden cameras that "depict the Defendants engaged in alleged sexual acts" should be kept from being made public because the evidence hasn't been produced in discovery and that it constitutes "[a]ctive criminal intelligence information."

The defendants also "dispute the position of the prosecutors that there may be a 'victim' of any offense at issue in these cases," but add that that the "mere possibility" there may be one should result in the video evidence being suppressed.

Kraft, 77, of Brookline, Massachusetts, faces two misdemeanor counts of soliciting another for prostitution after he allegedly visited the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter twice the weekend of the AFC Championship Game, including once hours before the Patriots faced the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoff game. He has not been charged with human trafficking.

Kraft's attorneys say their client "categorically" denies the allegations.

Florida prosecutors revealed earlier this week that they offered some of the accused, including Kraft, a plea deal that would have dropped the charges in exchange for the defendants admitting they would have been found guilty at trial, in addition to the men paying a $5,000 fine and completing a prostitution education course, sexually transmitted disease screening and 100 hours of community service.

If convicted of the misdemeanor charges, Kraft could face up to a year behind bars.

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