Prosecutors drop solicitation charges against Patriots owner Robert Kraft

The defense claimed the footage was illegally obtained and violates Kraft’s constitutional rights.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft
(photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)

Prosecutors in Florida said they are dropping the charges against the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whom they had accused last year of solicitation of prostitution.

The decision, which was announced Thursday, follows a a Palm Beach County Court ruling from May that excluded from the prosecution’s body of evidence a video that reportedly showed Kraft performing a sexual act at a massage parlor in January 2019.

The defense claimed the footage was illegally obtained and violates Kraft’s constitutional rights.

“Without the videos, we don’t have a case we can prosecute,” state attorney Dave Aronberg told reporters Thursday, according to The New York Times. “We are ethically compelled to drop all the charges.”

Kraft, who is Jewish, gave no reaction to the decision, The Times reported.