Robert Kraft Pleads Not Guilty To Prostitution Solicitation Charges

Patriots owner Robert Kraft pleaded not guilty to the charges of soliciting prostitution in Jupiter, Florida, as reported by Palm Beach County court records. Kraft requested a non-jury trial.

His lawyer received a summons for the team owner’s arrest earlier in the week. Police officers reported that Robert Kraft was caught on surveillance video receiving sex service at Orchids of Asia Spa in Jupiter on Jan. 19 and 20. He may get up to one year in jail, a $5,000 fine and 100 hours of community service per charge. His arraignment will take place on March 27 at 8:00 a.m. The Patriots owner does not have to appear at the arraignment. He pleaded not guilty, remember?

However, Eric Snyder, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan DA’s Office and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and high-profile trial lawyer, says there are major issues in Kraft’s case.

“A number of things jump out for me after reading the affidavit. When the police allege that vulnerable women are effectively being held as sex slaves, I would ask why the police didn’t move faster to get these women out of danger?

“Instead the police took several months doing surveillance and, despite already having numerous confessions from customers who were stopped in traffic leaving, plus evidence from inspectors inside the spa, they went to court to obtain the warrant for the video wiretap … The investigators seemed more concerned about obtaining highly embarrassing video footage to shame the customers, rather than acting faster to stop an illegal operation keeping vulnerable women in ‘sexual servitude.’

“Looking at the case against Kraft, there are a lot of big holes. First of all, the women he was with appear to have been operators of the massage parlor. One was arrested and the other one appears to be a cooperating witness, which is why she is named in the affidavits but wasn’t arrested. Prosecutors and police do not leave victims’ name unredacted in the reports they release.

“There’s also no proof in the affidavit that he solicited anything from the women. It is possible that this could have been a legal and consensual act between adults and there does not seem to be evidence to prove otherwise. So the facts supporting a misdemeanor charge of solicitation really don’t jump out at you.

“Second, the video was probably not legally obtained, the police seemed to ignore the necessity requirement for such an intrusive measure like planting a camera in the premises.”

“And third, I doubt the traffic stop was legal either. So the evidence will likely be suppressed [by Kraft’s legal team] if there is ever a trial.”