Prosecutors in the Florida prostitution case involving New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, say they have no evidence of human trafficking. Kraft’s legal team is arguing for having the video kept from public release.
Several lawyers for Robert Kraft are arguing that the video evidence should not be released to the public for fear that a release could make it harder for their client to get a fair trial, according to TMZ.
Kraft’s legal team says that the possible release of the video is being held over Kraft’s head “like a sword” in order to force him to take a plea deal.
Police have built a case on surveillance video from cameras they secretly installed in the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, in January that reportedly shows the NFL owner engaged in graphic sexual encounters with the employees of the outlet.
But early in the case, prosecutors also said that there was a possible link to human trafficking in the case.
In February, for instance, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder insisted that the spa was a “clear case” of human trafficking.
“It was clear to us that this was a trafficking case because of the circumstances I enumerated: They’re not leaving, they’re there 24 hours a day, the hygiene was minimal at best, just a bathroom,” Snyder said. “So we took it upon ourselves to not do what could be the easy way out … and we turned it into a trafficking case.”
According to TMZ, prosecutors have now admitted that there is no trafficking connection to the case. Prosecutors also noted that the whole angle of human trafficking has been dropped from their case.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston
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