Charges related to soliciting prostitutes have been dropped against New England Patriots and Boston Uprising owner Robert Kraft.
According to court papers filed earlier today, Florida prosecutors have dropped all charges against Kraft after he was caught paying for sex at a massage parlor. He was originally arrested as part of a $20 million month-long investigation that revealed Kraft and other men had “forced graphic sexual acts” on women living in the day spa. They were believed to be sex trafficking victims.
Kraft was one of approximately 300 men charged in Florida during the state’s crackdown on human trafficking. There were 10 closed parlors after it was discovered that Chinese immigrants were forced to live in the spas while performing sex acts multiple times a day against their will. Kraft visited the spa twice in January 2019.
The decision that Kraft didn’t have to face trial came after a court blocked prosecution from using a video that they said showed Kraft soliciting a woman for sex at the spa in January 2019. Police had secretly installed the cameras as part of their operation, which Kraft’s legal team alleges was in violation of the fourth amendment of the Constitution. Florida prosecutors are said to have bowed out of charging him due to concerns that losing a trial to the billionaire’s legal team would undermine other cases.
Without the video, there was little other evidence against Kraft.
In March 2019, Kraft issued an apology but declined to enter a plea.
“Although there was probable cause to make an arrest, the evidence cannot prove all legally required elements of the crime alleged and is insufficient to support a criminal prosecution,” CNBC reported.
Kraft originally faced up to one year of jail time.
Kraft is in the clear legally, but now fans wonder if the NFL will discipline the team owner for his alleged involvement with prostitutes. Hiring prostitutes is a punishable offense in the NFL, but Kraft will most likely avoid punishment due to his standing in the league and because of the legal outcome.
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