Florida prosecutors have dropped Robert Kraft’s prostitution charges.
Back in January 2019, Kraft was spending some time down in Florida and was allegedly participating in some illegal extracurricular activities, which included allegedly soliciting prostitutes in Jupiter, Fla. Kraft, 79, reportedly paid for sex services at the Orchids of Asia Day spa in the city, becoming one of at least 25 people who was later arrested for being an alleged perpetrator, according to NBC News.
At first, Kraft was facing two misdemeanor counts of solicitation. Today, prosecutors dropped the charges against him, according to court papers that were filed on Thursday. Palm Beach prosecutors reportedly lost a major court decision that ultimately led to the court throwing out video and audio surveillance of Kraft allegedly soliciting a woman at the spa.
“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,” according to a court filing by the office of Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who called a news conference to talk about the case on Thursday.
Last month, a Florida appeals court ruled that the Jupiter police violated Kraft’s rights and others by secretly recording people inside the massage rooms at the spa. The decision was made not to allow the use of the footage at trial because it went against Kraft’s privacy rights. While things have wrapped up in court, Kraft is filing a motion asking for the tapes of him in the spa to be destroyed so that they never reach the public eye.
“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,” wrote Kraft’s attorney, Frank Shepherd.
