Robert Kraft Prostitution Case: Charges, Video Ruling, and Outcome

The Robert Kraft prostitution case ended without a conviction. The New England Patriots owner was charged in February 2019 with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution at a Jupiter, Florida day spa, but a state appeals court ruled that the hidden-camera video anchoring the prosecution was unconstitutional, and prosecutors dropped both charges on September 24, 2020. Kraft never pleaded guilty, never admitted the conduct in court, and faced no NFL discipline.

The Charges Against Kraft

On February 25, 2019, Kraft was formally charged with two counts of first-degree solicitation of prostitution under Florida Statute 796.07. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor.¹ The counts covered two visits Kraft allegedly made to the Orchids of Asia Day Spa on January 19 and January 20, 2019, both recorded by hidden police cameras inside the massage rooms.²

Police said Kraft arrived at the spa on January 20 at about 11:00 a.m. in a chauffeured 2015 blue Bentley, was recorded receiving oral and manual sexual services, paid roughly $100, and left by 11:15 a.m. He flew to Kansas City later that day and attended the AFC Championship Game, where the Patriots beat the Chiefs to advance to the Super Bowl.¹

A conviction on both counts could have brought up to one year in jail, a mandatory $5,000 fine, 100 hours of community service, and a required class on the dangers of prostitution and human trafficking.² Kraft pleaded not guilty and chose a non-jury trial.³

The Sting and the Trafficking Claims That Never Produced Charges

Kraft was one defendant in a much larger multi-agency operation running between Palm Beach and Orlando. The investigation began in July 2018 after a state Health Department employee reported signs of human trafficking, and it eventually targeted roughly ten massage parlors.⁴ Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg described conditions at the spas as “modern-day slavery.”⁵ Police alleged women at the spas had passports confiscated, could not leave without an escort, and worked long hours in poor conditions.

No trafficking charges were ever filed. Martin County Sheriff William Snyder later acknowledged that proving trafficking “would be difficult or impossible.” About 300 men were charged as patrons across the various spas, and several spa owners and managers were charged with racketeering and money laundering.⁶

Kraft’s Response: Rejected Plea Deal and Public Apology

Prosecutors offered Kraft and 24 other men a pretrial diversion deal. To take it, defendants had to acknowledge guilt or admit they would have been found guilty at trial, perform 100 hours of community service, attend a class on the dangers of prostitution, and pay $5,000 per count. Kraft turned it down. His spokeswoman said the team “categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity.”³

On March 23, 2019, Kraft released a written statement. “I am truly sorry,” he said. “I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard.”⁷ His attorney, William Burck, took a harder line: “There was no human trafficking and law enforcement knows it. The video and the traffic stop were illegal and law enforcement just doesn’t want to admit it.”⁸

Why the Video Was Thrown Out

The prosecution’s case rested almost entirely on surveillance footage from inside the spa’s massage rooms. Police installed hidden cameras using covert “sneak-and-peek” warrants, using a phony bomb threat as a pretext to clear the building and set up the equipment.⁹

Kraft’s defense moved to suppress the recordings. A trial judge granted the motion, prosecutors appealed, and on August 19, 2020, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed the suppression in a consolidated ruling covering Kraft and other defendants.¹⁰ The three-judge panel held that clients had “a subjective and objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in the massage parlor rooms” and that “total suppression of the video recordings was constitutionally warranted.”¹¹

The ruling turned on a constitutional doctrine called minimization, which requires law enforcement to limit surveillance so it does not sweep up people unconnected to the investigation. The court found the warrants had no written guidelines to protect innocent spa clients and that police failed to take basic steps such as not recording or monitoring female clients for whom there was no probable cause. In a related Vero Beach investigation, cameras ran continuously for 60 days, recording innocent women in various states of undress.¹¹ The court called the technique “extreme” and observed that silent video surveillance is among the most intrusive forms of electronic monitoring, potentially more invasive than audio wiretapping.¹²

How the Case Ended

With the video suppressed and no realistic path to bringing it back in, prosecutors filed a nolle prosequi on September 24, 2020, formally dropping both counts against Kraft.¹³ Aronberg said flatly: “Without these videos, we cannot move forward with our prosecutions and thus we are ethically compelled to drop the cases against all the defendants.”¹⁴ Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said continuing to fight the suppression at the state Supreme Court “could have broader, negative implications beyond the limited facts of this case, which could affect law enforcement efforts in the future.”¹⁵

Kraft made no admission of guilt as part of the dismissal and declined to comment.¹⁵

What Happened to the Spa Operators

The dismissal covered Kraft and other patrons, but the women who ran the Orchids of Asia Day Spa resolved their cases separately through plea deals in late 2020. None faced trafficking charges.

Owner Hua Zhang had initially been charged with 29 felony prostitution-related counts.¹⁶ On November 12, 2020, she pleaded to two reduced misdemeanors and received one year of probation, a $5,000 fine, and 100 hours of community service, with adjudication withheld.¹⁷ Manager Lei Wang pleaded guilty on December 2, 2020, to one misdemeanor solicitation count, with a felony proceeds charge dropped; she received the same probation, fine, and community service.¹⁸ Spa employee Shen Mingbi, whom police said was recorded performing sexual acts on multiple men including Kraft, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor solicitation count; she received one year of probation, a $5,000 fine, 100 hours of community service, and was ordered to forfeit $20,000 to the Jupiter Police Department.¹⁹

NFL Discipline

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was “conducting its own investigation into the matter” under the Personal Conduct Policy but held back further comment while the criminal case unfolded.²⁰ After the charges were dropped, the NFL imposed no fine, suspension, or other discipline on Kraft.²¹

1
ESPN. Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Officially Charged With First-Degree Solicitation
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NHPR. Robert Kraft Is Formally Charged With Solicitation Over Visits to Florida Day Spa
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ABC News. New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Rejects Plea Deal
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CNN. Jupiter Florida Day Spa Living Conditions
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New York Post. Why Bob Kraft’s Ordeal Should Alarm Us All
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Associated Press. New Florida Strategy on Massage Parlor Prostitution
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New York Times. Robert Kraft Apology
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WCVB. Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Releases Statement and Says I Am Truly Sorry
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ABC News. Florida Appeals Court Agrees to Throw Out Video Evidence in Prostitution Case
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New York Times. Robert Kraft Scandal Video Appeal
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Fourth District Court of Appeal of Florida. State v. Kraft, No. 4D19-1499
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Findlaw. State v. Kraft
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CNBC. Robert Kraft Prosecutors Drop Sex Case Against Patriots Owner
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NBC News. Robert Kraft Prostitution Charges Dropped by Florida Prosecutors
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New York Times. Robert Kraft Video Surveillance Case
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ABC News. Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Offered Plea Deal in Florida Prostitution Case
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Palm Beach Post. Last of Four Women Charged in Alleged Prostitution at Jupiter Day Spa Takes Plea
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WPTV. Plea Deal Brings Closure in Prostitution Cases at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter
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WPTV. Third Defendant Charged With Alleged Prostitution at Orchids of Asia Day Spa Changes Plea
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MassLive. Robert Kraft Solicitation Case: NFL Executives Predict Patriots Owner Won’t Face League Punishment
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Ohio State Moritz College of Law. De La Vega