Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Officially Charged With Solicitation

Update:

Patriots owner Robert Kraft was officially charged on Monday with first degree solicitation of a prostitute in Florida, via ESPN.com.

Kraft’s court date is scheduled for April 24, but he isn’t required to appear and he can have his lawyer attend the hearing instead. 

Police said Monday they secretly planted undercover cameras in targeted massage parlors and recorded the interactions between men and the female employees.

The individuals named in the case for soliciting prostitutes could face either a first- or second-degree misdemeanor for each count. A second-degree charge carries up to a 60-day jail sentence and a $500 fine; a first-degree charge carries up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Michael McCann mentions that if convicted, Kraft would face a mandatory 100 hours of community service and must attend an educational course. 

Here’s the official document from police: 

Here is the document for #RobertKraft pic.twitter.com/gJwZVadKKg

— Danielle Waugh (@DanielleWaughTV) February 25, 2019

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Michele Steele of ESPN reports that an arrest warrant for Patriots owner Robert Kraft is considered “imminent” and could be served as early as today.

According to Steele, the charging documents must be completed and either signed by a judge or processed by the clerk of court. Steele notes that a state attorney in Palm Beach making the formal charging decision.

The NFL released a new statement on Monday regarding the allegations of soliciting prostitution against Kraft: 

A new NFL statement on #Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s allegations of soliciting prostitution says the league is seeking “a full understanding of the facts” while not interfering with an ongoing investigation. Here it is in full: pic.twitter.com/8x1XMgen6T

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 25, 2019

Last week, Kraft was charged for soliciting another to commit prostitution in Jupiter, Florida. 

Kraft is accused of soliciting a prostitute on an at least two separate occasions and police say they’ve obtained evidence from body cam video and surveillance from the past several months.

Mike Garafolo previously mentioned secondary misdemeanor charges come with a maximum penalty of up to 60 days in jail per charge.

The woman, who owns the spa is accused of running the sex trafficking ring operated out of local spas that referred to themselves as massage parlors. She was arrested and charged with deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, keeping and frequenting a house of prostitution and 26 counts of procuring for prostitution.

Many of the women were from China and lived at the spa, but were not permitted to leave, according to Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder.

Police say the women were told they were coming to the U.S. for jobs, but were instead held as virtual prisoners/sex workers, per Chris Jansing.

According to the Martin County Sheriff, the women involved in human trafficking ring were given no days off and averaged about 1,500 men a year. Their hygiene was described as “minimal” at best, per Perry Russom.

The investigation took roughly eight months to conduct and officials have reportedly identified over 100 men. In total, 25 people are expected to be charged with prostitution in the investigation.

We’ll have more regarding Kraft and the investigation as the news is available.