Overview

Jupiter, Florida Prostitution Sting refers to mass charges of human trafficking, prostitution, and soliciting sex from prostitutes at day spas and massage parlors in Jupiter, Florida. The most notable person charged as part of the sting operation is Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots of the National Football League.

Background

On February 22nd, 2019, Jupiter, Florida police chief Daniel Kerr held a press conference announcing that their department had completed a sting of multiple spas and massage parlors in the local area and raided them on suspicion of prostitution.^[1] The investigation involved multiple law-enforcement agencies, and was carried out on nearly a dozen establishments in the area.^[2] The conference detailed that the highest profile man charged for soliciting prostitutes from the establishments was New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. The police stated they had video evidence proving Kraft's involvement. Reporter Ali Schmitz tweeted a list of all those being charged (shown below).

Developments

A spokesman for Kraft stated "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further."^[2] If convicted, Kraft would face up to a sixty day jail sentence,^[3] though CNN analyst Paul Callan says it is rare for men who solicit prostitutes, or "johns," to get arrested. The NFL stated, "The NFL is aware of the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments."^[3][4]

ESPN reporter Adam Schefter reported that he had heard that Kraft was not the biggest name involved in the sting and that the situation would "heat up."^[5]

President Trump, who is a friend of Kraft's, stated that he was "very surprised to see it," and noted that Kraft proclaimed his innocence (shown below).

After the news broke, Kraft-Heinz stocks were reported to hit record lows.^[6] Robert Kraft is the CEO of the Kraft group.

Popular jokes about the news include a tweet by @Pappiness that gained over 5,300 retweets and 16,000 likes (shown below, left) and a Hold My Beer joke by @TimRunsHisMouth that gained over 790 retweets and 2,000 likes (shown below, right).

Kraft Video

On April 17th, it was reported that prosecutors in the case intended to release video evidence of Kraft and the other 24 men indicted in the case paying for sex in the case. This was as per Florida's public records law, which states that "if a government agency has a record, it must be made public unless the law expressly saying otherwise."^[7] The defense immediately challenged this. "If the affidavit says what happened, what is the interest the public has in seeing it?" said Kraft's attorney, William Burck. "It's basically pornography."^[8] The judge ruled that the video not be released until a hearing was held about the matter. The hearing is scheduled for April 29th.^[9]

Search Interest

External References