President Donald Trump said it was “very sad” to hear about the prostitution charges New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft faces Friday.
“Surprised to see it. He has denied it,” Trump told reporters of his longtime friend at the White House Friday afternoon, reports The Hill. The president called the news “very sad.”
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On Friday morning, police in Jupiter, Florida, announced Kraft was charged with two counts of soliciting someone to commit prostitution. The charges came after a months-long investigation into the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, about 20 miles from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
#BREAKING: President Trump comments on the charges against Patriots owner Robert Kraft pic.twitter.com/q9rZjuGMjh
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) February 22, 2019
Police said they arrested two women at the spa earlier this week for “deriving support from prostitution, maintaining a house for prostitution and offering to commit prostitution,” reports CBS Miami. Kraft is one of 25 people facing charges in connection with the spa, and ESPN‘s Adam Schefter reported Kraft is “not the biggest name involved” in the incident.
According to the affidavit, police began officer surveillance of the spa on Nov. 6, 2018 and learned three women were allegedly forced to live there. On Jan. 18, police began video surveillance until Jan. 22.
WPBF reports that police captured sex acts with 25 different men, and at least six different victims were forced to perform sexual acts at all hours of the day.
“‘Does the video contain Mr. Kraft inside receiving the alleged acts?’ The answer to that is, ‘Yes,’” the lead investigator in the case said in a press conference.
The investigation into the spa started in October 2018. During their surveillance, police discovered only men were visiting the spa for only 30 minutes to an hour. The Florida Department of Health then conducted an inspection, telling police “it appeared as though the female employees were living there as there were two rooms with beds, including sheets and pillows.”
Officers also looked at the spa’s trash and found grocery bags with ripped-up spreadsheets including names, and napkins with seminal fluid, police said. They also stopped men who broke traffic laws after visiting the spa and four of them told police about what the spa was really doing.
Kraft has denied any wrongdoing.
“We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further,” his spokesperson said.
“The NFL is aware of the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments,” the NFL added.
Kraft, 77, has owned the Patriots since 1994 and is CEO of the Kraft Group. His wife, Myra Hiatt, died in 2011 and he started dating Ricki Noel Lander, 39, in 2012. He has four sons including Jonathan Kraft, 54, the president of the Kraft Group and the Patriots.
Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
