Robert Kraft 'categorically' denies soliciting sex at spa after police said he was filmed twice in the act

Sarah Harvard
Updated

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has “categorically” denied soliciting sex at a spa in Florida after police said he was filmed doing so twice.

Mr Kraft, 77, faces two counts of soliciting sex from a prostitute. The billionaire is one of two dozen men who were arrested for allegedly paying $59 (£45) for a half-hour and $79 (£60) for an hour of sex at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida.

“We categorically deny that Mr Kraft engaged in any illegal activity,” his spokesman said in a statement. “Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further.”

Mr Kraft, whose football team recently won its sixth Super Bowl championship, was one of more than 170 people arrested in south Florida during a police sweep on prostitution and sex trafficking, according to a Jupiter police affidavit. Police said on Friday that the women involved were “working long hours and engaged in oral and manual sex acts”.

Jupiter police chief Daniel Kerr said Mr Kraft as subject to misdemeanour charges based on two separate alleged visits to the spa.

“We have two,” Mr Kerr said, regarding the two counts of soliciting sex against Mr Kraft. “Two different visits. … We’re as equally stunned as everybody else.”

Detective Andrew Sharp said the billionaire was caught on surveillance video.

“The question was, does the video contain Mr Kraft inside receiving the alleged acts. The answer to that is yes,” Mr Sharp told reporters during a press conference on Friday.

There is an arrest warrant from Mr Kraft with the state attorney’s office and it will be sent to the Patriots owner’s home in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The National Football League issued a brief statement following the news of Mr Kraft’s sex solicitation charges, saying it is “aware of the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments”.

Jupiter police officer O’Neil Anderson said: “Kraft was a shock. It was really just a shock to have a human trafficking ring working out of a storefront in quiet Jupiter.”