ACCORDING TO POLICE, the video shows Kraft receiving sex acts from Asian massage therapists. According to Kraft’s attorneys — JUPITER, Fla., - Billionaire Robert Kraft wants to make sure secret surveillance video of his alleged visits to a Jupiter day spa never sees the light of day.
According to police, the video shows Kraft receiving sex acts from Asian massage therapists. According to Kraft’s attorneys, the video was obtained illegally.
In a scathing court filing, Kraft’s attorneys claim surveillance video is “the fruit of an unlawful sneak-and-peek search warrant” and “an unlawful traffic stop".
Kraft’s attorneys claim Jupiter detectives “did not exhaust less-invasive investigatory techniques,” like “undercover work,” and did not attempt to speak with the spa’s current or former employees.
They also said the warrant offered no instruction for monitoring the video (like when to stop recording), and instead, gave detectives permission to film everything, including lawful massages.
Jupiter’s sneak and peek warrant hasn’t been made public so it is hard to know if these claims are true.
However, Contact 5 obtain copies of two sneak-and-peek warrants filed out of Martin County earlier this week. They show detectives there did try other investigative techniques and laid out strict monitoring rules for the judge.
This isn’t the first time sneak-and-peek warrants have been filed for prostitution cases in Florida. A video leaked to Contact 5 shows the inside of a now-defunct illicit massage parlor. The video was the result of a sneak-and-peek warrant, and law enforcement sources told Contact 5 it resulted in numerous prosecutions and shut down the spa.
In a 12 month period, between 2016 and 2017, almost 300 sneak-and-peek warrants were granted in Florida, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
However, they are complicated, and defense attorney Greg Salnick says they come with a lot of rules because of privacy concerns.
“Putting a video camera in the ceiling of massage parlor is probably the most invasive intrusive privacy violation. When you go get a massage, one has an expectation of privacy.”
When asked if someone had a reasonable expectation of privacy if they were breaking the law, Salnick said, “That is a question that the courts have to answer.”
Kraft’s attorneys also say copies of the search warrant were supposed to be delivered to the spa’s owner but they never were.
A spokesman for the Jupiter Police Dept. said the agency had no comment, citing an active investigation.
Recently, Kraft’s attorney went after law enforcement agencies who did not investigate their client’s case.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder recently sat down with Contact 5 to discuss the ongoing investigation.
“It looks like trafficking. It feels like trafficking. It sounds like trafficking. I believe it is human trafficking, but we are just a little shore too being able to prove that,” Snyder told Contact 5’s crime investigator Merris Badcock.
In response to our interview, Kraft’s attorney William Burke told USA Today Sports, “Sheriff Will Snyder admitted that there was no human trafficking. He lied about it. His officers lied about it. I don’t really know what to say. I’ve never seen anything quite like that before.”
But during our sit down, Snyder also told Contact 5 his detectives had not yet given up on human trafficking charges, in the hopes one of their victims might cooperate further with police.
“What we need to really have a compelling trafficking case would be a believable testimony from one of our victims," Snyder.
Martin County did not investigate Kraft’s case since it was not in their jurisdiction. However, police records show Jupiter police were tipped off to the parlor by a Martin County detective.
