FOXBOROUGH, MA — Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with soliciting prostitution in Jupiter, Fla., authorities said during a stunning press conference Friday. Kraft is among at least 25 people charged as a result of a six-month investigation into an international sex trafficking operation, with dozens more warrants expected across Southern Florida.
Kraft, 77, was caught on camera at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa & Massage, where he had visited at least twice, authorities said. He is charged with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting another to commit prostitution stemming from separate visits.
“We’re as equally stunned as everybody else,” said Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr when asked about Kraft’s prominence among those arrested.
Police said the massage parlor Kraft visited had enticed women from overseas by telling them they were coming to America for work, but instead forced them into sexual servitude.
“We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity,” a Kraft spokesperson said. “Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further.”
Kraft Sports Group did not immediately return a request for comment. Several attempts to reach a Patriots spokesperson were unsuccessful.
John Childs of the Waltham-based private equity firm J.W. Childs was also charged, authorities said.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Kraft is not the biggest name involved in the bust.
President Trump, a longtime friend of Kraft, told reporters in the Oval officer he’s “surprised” and emphasized that Kraft “denies it,” according to NBC News.
“Well it’s very sad,” Trump said. “I was very surprised to see it. He’s proclaimed his innocence totally.”
The NFL said in a statement it is aware of “the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments.” It did not mention Kraft or the Patriots.
A statement from Gov. Charlie Baker said he “finds these allegations deeply disturbing and condemns all acts of sexual exploitation.”
Safety Devin McCourty is the first Patriot to discuss the charges against Kraft with the media.
“I think when you see things come out like that, you gotta let it play out,” McCourty told NBC Boston’s Tom Curran. “See what it is and what it isn’t and go from there. [Kraft] has been a great person for me to lean on as far as just social justice stuff, a guy to talk to. Always present in the locker room, always there to talk to guys. So I’ve had the opportunity to build that kind of relationship with him.”
Kraft, who lives in Brookline and has a condo in Florida 20 minutes from the spa, has owned the Patriots since 1994. He bought the team for $174 million; The Patriots are the second-most valuable NFL franchise at $3.8 billion, according to Forbes.
Kraft is among the most successful owners in sports in that time, overseeing the team’s transformation into American sports premier dynasty. The Patriots have won six Super Bowls in his tenure, becoming the winningest franchise of the 21st century.
Kraft’s net worth is more than $6.6 billion, according to Forbes. He also owns Gillette Stadium and Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution.
Kraft started building his fortune at Worcester-based Rand-Whitney, a company that converts paper into packaging, according to the Patriots website. He founded International Forest Products in 1972; IFP is under The Kraft Group and is one of the largest packaging exporters in the country.
Kraft’s wife Myra died in 2011. The two were married for nearly five decades, having four sons. The Krafts have donated more than $400 million to a variety of philanthropic causes worldwide.
Kraft was born in Brookline to a Jewish family; his father wanted him to become a rabbi. He graduated from Brookline High in 1959. He then graduated from Columbia in 1963 – the same year he married Myra – and got a master’s at Harvard two years later.
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