Last February, Robert Kraft was among more than 25 people caught up in a police investigation into Florida massage parlors: the New England Patriots’ owner was charged with two separate counts of soliciting prostitution after video recordings from inside a spa in Palm Beach County allegedly showed him paying for sexual services.
What ensued was a legal battle that lasted 19 months and came to an end today: according to court papers filed, prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor charges against Kraft today after courts had previously blocked the use of the recorded video.
Last month, the Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals found that police violated the rights of the 79-year-old and others when cameras were secretly installed at the establishment. That video, however, is the only evidence prosecutors have against Kraft which is why charges were now dropped.
Kraft’s attorneys, meanwhile, have filed a motion asking that that the recordings be destroyed.
“Only by ordering the State to destroy the Videos and to comply with interim measures securing them can the Court guard against the palpable risk of further leak or misuse and correspondingly vindicate the constitutional principles and rights that are at stake in this case,” Kraft’s attorney, Frank Shepherd, wrote.