New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has pleaded not guilty to soliciting prostitution, just days after Jupiter police identified him as one of two dozen men caught on camera engaging in sex acts at an illicit massage parlor.
Kraft, 77, a billionaire who lives in Massachusetts and has a home in Palm Beach, is requesting a non-jury trial to address two misdemeanor counts, according to recently released court documents. The paperwork was filed Tuesday by Kraft’s attorney, Jack Goldberger.
Kraft is among the men charged in a crackdown on massage parlor prostitution and an investigation into human trafficking at 10 spas from Jupiter to Martin County to Orlando. The spas were shut down and several people, mostly women originally from China, were charged with running the operation.
While two dozen men were charged in the Jupiter case, hundreds more are being charged in connection with the other spas.
Jupiter police said Kraft paid for sexual acts at the Orchids of Asia massage parlor, the night before and morning of the Jan. 20 AFC Championship game. He then flew to Kansas City, where he saw his team beat the Chiefs.
In a statement last week, a spokesperson for Kraft said they “categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity.” Goldberger couldn’t be immediately reached Thursday despite a request for comment left at his office.
Caught on camera
At a news conference last Friday, Jupiter police handed out the list of the names of the men accused, adding that Kraft and the others all were caught on video engaging in illicit acts.
“The videos that we obtained, it shows the acts that took place on every gentleman you have a list of, the acts that took place is recorded on that video,” Jupiter Police Detective Andrew Sharp told reporters at the time. Police confirmed the footage was captured, in part, after they planted cameras inside the business for their investigation.
But any footage linked to the cases may not become publicly available anytime soon, officials said.