Robert Kraft Prostitution Video Suppressed Again

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A Florida judge doubled down on last week's decision to delay the release of surveillance video stemming from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's prostitution case, which he has pleaded not guilty in. During court proceedings Monday, Judge Joseph Marx agreed to suppress five days of video at the requests of the defense attorneys representing the owner and manager at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter.

Last week, Judge Leonard Hanser ruled the videos cannot be released until a jury is sworn in or unless the case was concluded in other ways. Marx's ruling not only reaffirms Hanser's decision, but expands it to suppressing all video recorded at the spa, not just the footage pertaining to Kraft's case.

Marx in court documents said he agreed with Hanser's ruling that releasing the video now would deny Kraft, the spa owner and manager, and others a fail trial, CNN reported.

"Why shouldn't I go right down the road Hanser went?" Marx said.

Marx's ruling was specific to video and said it left open the possibility for photographs to be released as evidence. He also said his order to pressures the videos can still be appealed.

Last week, Hanser agreed to accept Kraft's attorney's motion, and temporarily suppress the videos. He said Kraft's status as a public figure is being taken into consideration.

"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 in court documents.

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.

Prosecutors said they needed to release the videos because they were also part of a case against the owner and manager at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter. Spa manager Lei Wang and owner Hua Zhang pleaded not guilty to maintaining a house of prostitution and numerous other charges. Prosecutors have also cited Florida's "Public Records Act," arguing they are obligated by state law to release the videos.

According to court documents, Kraft is accused of visiting the spa twice while it was under video surveillance. One of those visits was the day of the AFC Championship game, prosecutors said. 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.

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.

Related

• Judge Temporarily Blocks Robert Kraft Prostitution Video Release
• I'm In Robert Kraft Prostitution Video: Lawsuit
• Robert Kraft Prostitution Video 'Porn,' Should Be Sealed: Defense
• Robert Kraft Tries To Suppress Video In Prostitution Case
• Robert Kraft Pleads Not Guilty To Soliciting Prostitution Charges