MIAMI _ Surveillance video of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly paying for and receiving oral sex during a visit to a South Florida day spa in January will be released by the Palm Beach State Attorney's Office, according to an official notice to the court filed by the agency Wednesday morning.
"We believe these videos are public records," said Michael B. Edmondson, executive assistant to the state attorney. "We're going to comply with (Florida records law) unless and until we hear differently."
The office is currently processing public records requests and plans to release the videos because they are no longer exempt as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, Edmondson said. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported redactions will include blurring nudity. No video has been released yet.
Kraft was charged with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia day spa in Jupiter in late January. He was busted as part of a sweeping investigation into a prostitution ring that spanned two Florida counties, and resulted in five spa closures and charges against more than two dozen men who allegedly had paid for sexual acts at the spas. Several managers and owners of the spas were arrested on charges of running a house of prostitution.
Although authorities initially indicated their investigation focused on possible human trafficking, prosecutors said late last week they had no evidence that trafficking had occurred.
Key evidence in the prosecution's case are videos from surveillance cameras placed inside the spas in mid-January, via a warrant obtained through a local judge.
In March, Kraft's attorneys filed a motion to block the release of the videos during the legal discovery process in the cases against the spa owner, claiming their release would be both an invasion of Kraft's privacy and could undermine his right to a fair trial.
In a court filing Wednesday, attorneys for Kraft called the state attorney's decision "an extraordinary and alarming development" and a "bad faith attempt to circumvent judicial review prior to a resolution of the pending motions for protective orders."
The Miami Herald along with several other media organizations joined the lawsuit in an effort to push for the release of the videos.
"There are many questions about this case, including how and why police videotaped inside Orchids of Asia," said Miami Herald Managing Editor Rick Hirsch. "The Herald sought the release of the videos because we zealously fight for access to public records to fully understand the stories we tell. We have no desire to show video of Mr. Kraft or women who may have been exploited engaged in a sex act."
