Robert Kraft Video Release Delayed By Judge

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A Florida judge ruled Tuesday that surveillance video stemming from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's prostitution case cannot be made public until — at least for now. Judge Leonard Hanser in court documents said the video cannot be released until a jury is sworn in or unless the case was concluded in other ways.

Hanser agreed with the argument's from Kraft's attorneys that releasing the video now would deny Kraft a fair trial. Although he referred to the alleged incident at Orchids of Asia Day Spa as "tawdry" and "fairly unremarkable," Kraft's status as a public figure changes the perception.

"If that man is the owner of the most successful franchise in, arguably, the most popular professional sport in the United States, an entirely different dynamic arises, especially if the encounter is captured on videotape and the incident is the focus of much media attention and pretrial publicity," Hanser wrote.

Hanser said the video can only be released when a jury is sworn in, the case is resolved in a plea agreement, Florida prosecutors drop the charges or when the judge no longer sees the threat of an unfair trial as an issue.

Also on Tuesday, a masseuse accused of performing a sex act on Kraft at the spa was arrested, police announced. Shen Mingbi, 58, was charged with eight counts of prostitution. She is accused of performing sex acts on eight different men at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida and was captured on the same surveillance video Kraft is trying to have suppressed in his soliciting prostitution case, police told WCVB.

Police told TMZ spa manager Lei Wang also performed sex acts on Kraft on Jan. 19, in private massage room at the spa. Wang had already been arrested and was in court last week. Wang pleaded not guilty to maintaining a house of prostitution and numerous other charges.

Both her and Kraft's attorneys have filed separate motions to keep the surveillance videos from being made public. Kraft's lawyers argue the video surveillance was illegal because it stemmed from a search warrant granted to uncover sex trafficking, something Kraft's defense said there was no evidence of. Prosecutors admitted in court April 12 they had no evidence of any human trafficking at the spa, but initially thought there was. They argue they are obligated to release the videos under Florida's "Public Records Act."

Over two dozen spa customers are also trying to keep the videos from being made public by filing a class-action lawsuit. The 31 spa customers who said they received legitimate massages claimed they were illegally recorded by hidden police cameras installed in the building. None of the listed plaintiffs were charged by Jupiter police in the prostitution sting.

A woman accused of giving Patriots owner Robert Kraft a massage at Orchids of Asia in Jupiter, FL has been arrested. Mingbi Shen faces prostitution charges pic.twitter.com/djI1qNerKA
— Aaron Katersky (@AaronKatersky) April 23, 2019

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