NFL News: Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Cleared Of Massage Parlor Charges

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft will not face trial after being cleared of misdemeanor charges of solicitation of prostitution, according to court papers filed Thursday.

Florida prosecutors dropped the charges after courts blocked the use of video and audio surveillance of the 79-year-old allegedly paying for massage parlor sex on consecutive days in January 2019, The New York Times reported.

Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg said he agreed with the state attorney general’s decision not to continue trying the case after a Florida appeals court last month upheld the ruling that blocked the video evidence.

“Without these videos, we cannot move forward with our prosecutions and thus we are ethically compelled to drop the cases against all the defendants,” Aronberg said during a news conference Thursday.

In August, a Florida appeals court ruled that Jupiter police violated the rights of Kraft and several others when they secretly installed video cameras inside the massage rooms at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa. The recordings are allegedly the only known evidence that they solicited women, The Guardian reported.

“To permit otherwise would yield unbridled discretion to agents of law enforcement and the government, the antithesis of the constitutional liberty of people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures,” the court ruled.

On their end, Kraft’s attorneys have filed a motion asking that the recordings be destroyed so they can never be released to the public. The Patriots owner is allegedly willing to pay the state’s cost if anyone challenges a destruction order.

Though this development may give Kraft some relief, he is not totally in the clear. The widower could still face some form of penalty from the NFL tied to the incident. One of the possible sanctions could see Kraft getting suspended.

Kraft had already apologized for the incident and pleaded not guilty to the charges. It was a strenuous 19-month fight for the Patriots owner, but he may have to deal with a fine or suspension, depending on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Goodell said in March last year that Kraft would not be spared from the league's personal conduct policy regardless of his status, NBC Sports reported.

"The Personal Conduct Policy applies to everybody," Goodell said. "Commissioners, owners, executives, players, coaches. And it will be applied to everybody. But it will be done after we get all the facts. When we have all the information, we'll be fair and smart about it. That's what we'll do."