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[h=1]Chris Perkins and Mark Saxon Feb 23, 2019[/h]
JUPITER, Fla. — Twitter, predictably, wasn’t kind to Robert Kraft, the 77-year-old New England Patriots owner who was charged with soliciting prostitution Friday in Jupiter, Fla.
“I hope this story has a happy ending,” was a popular quip. It’s a reference to a term for a sex act commonly associated with the type of massage parlor Kraft, a billionaire, is accused of visiting.
Memes have popped up seemingly nonstop with a variety of tricked-up photos and smart-aleck captions. A septuagenarian owner of the Super Bowl-winning team who allegedly pays for sex? Hilarious! Time to ridicule and poke fun, right?
Wrong.
Police claim Kraft made two January visits to Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, a massage parlor they say was a front for paid sex acts. Kraft’s spokesman categorically denied the charges, but police say they have video evidence.
Likely even worse for Kraft is that police claim to have evidence that Orchids of Asia is affiliated with a human sex-trafficking ring. They suspect the ring has roots in New York and China and holds women against their will, forcing them to have sex for money.
Kraft has not been accused of or charged with having sex with anyone underage, and there are no allegations that Orchids of Asia trafficked or employed underaged women.
This is the latest example of an NFL owner allegedly breaking the law. It brings to mind recent incidents with fellow owners such as Jim Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts, who served a six-game suspension and was hit with a $500,000 fine in 2014 for driving while impaired, and former Carolina owner Jerry Richardson, who sold the team after allegations of workplace misconduct.
The allegation against Kraft also rekindles the multi-pronged issue the NFL has had recently with the treatment of women. The league has been involved in a number of high-profile situations, many of which, critics say, league commissioner Roger Goodell has not handled particularly well.
In recent years, concerns of violence against women have dogged the NFL with cases involving players such as Cleveland running back Kareem Hunt, Washington linebacker Reuben Foster, former Cowboys and Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy or, years ago, former Ravens running back Ray Rice being played out in the public eye.
Kraft’s predicament is different, but it has the potential to tarnish the shield in other equally serious ways.
In fact, it reached all the way to the top of the nation Friday when President Trump, a longtime friend of Kraft’s, was asked about the two solicitation charges.
Trump, who reportedly called Kraft frequently to check on him after his wife, Myra, died of ovarian cancer in 2011, said, “Well, it’s very sad. I was very surprised to see it. He’s proclaimed his innocence totally, but I’m very surprised to see it.”
Kraft was married to Myra for 48 years until her passing, and the couple had four sons together. Kraft has been dating 39-year-old Ricki Noel Lander for the last six years, according to People magazine.
Kraft was among about 25 other alleged “johns,” men who pay for sex acts, caught up in a six-month sting operation at a number of South Florida massage parlors, including Orchids of Asia in Jupiter, a well-to-do town located about 90 miles north of Miami and just 20 miles north of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
Two people — Hua Zhang, 58, Lei Wang, 39 — were arrested in connection with the spa.
And Kraft may not even be the highest-profile celebrity involved in the proceedings, according to ESPN.
Kraft’s spokesman said in a statement, “We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further.”
The NFL also issued a statement that said, “The NFL is aware of the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments.”
While many massage parlors operate perfectly legally, the industry as a whole has a bit of a reputation for serving as a front for prostitution. The tipoffs are usually a largely male clientele, being especially busy at lunchtime and even busier after dark. The clients are typically from all walks of life, from wealthy to young to old. The ages of the johns in the Orchids of Asia raid ranged from 29 to 84.
Police in neighboring Martin County conducted raids at four other spas earlier in the week that charged about 100 men with sex acts.
Dr. Kimberley Mehlman-Orozco is a human trafficking expert and one of the nation’s foremost voices on the subject. She wrote a book called “Hidden in Plain Sight: America’s Slaves of the New Millennium” and interviewed a number of men who frequent sex-industry establishments. She said they’re the guys many are least likely to suspect.
“Most men who do patronize those type of locations, they are of means, they are affluent, they are educated, they are often family men,” she said.
She said men want two things at such establishments — sex and anonymity.
“In my interviews with these guys they say, ‘We’re not paying for sex, we’re paying to walk away afterward,'” she said.
The sex-trafficking part of the story isn’t new to Nilda Valmores, executive director of My Sister’s House, an organization in Sacramento, Calif., that helps women who have been impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. She once came across a 60-year-old working in the sex industry.
At the opposite extreme, Sgt. Daron Wyatt of the Anaheim (Calif.) Police Department has come across girls as young as 12 and 13 years old working in the sex industry.
These aren’t prostitutes, women who willingly get involved in sex acts. These are victims, women who are forced or coerced.
“They can’t escape,” said Valmores, who runs a relatively modest three-building, 18-bed shelter. “And when they do it’s just amazing.”
Orchids of Asia Day Spa is located in an upscale strip mall anchored by an Outback Steakhouse and Publix Market. It is in the heart of Jupiter and just a five-minute walk from the beach.
By 1:30 p.m. on Friday, three TV crews, two employees of Barstool Sports and a handful of curious onlookers had gathered outside the locked spa doors. Next door on each side are a nail salon and an escape room. Neither of the owners of those establishments was willing to speak to The Athletic. Four doors down is the hair salon where Alexandra Castrillon, a resident of Jupiter, works as a stylist.
“I went in there one time to ask about getting a facial and the lady was perfectly nice about it,” Castrillon said. “They gave me a brochure and I left. I didn’t think anything like this was going on. This is not good for Jupiter.”
Carol Patton, of Tequesta, was emerging from the Thai restaurant two doors down with a friend when she noticed all the commotion. She said she had visited the spa as part of her fundraising efforts for a local shelter for young and homeless pregnant women, Hannah’s Home. Patton said one of the residents of the home was a victim of sex trafficking, so she is more alert than many people to such illicit activity.
“Almost every business here would give us something. We count on the community for support,” Patton said. “Every time we’d go there, we would both come out of there and go, ‘There’s something not right in this place.’ There were never any customers and then when I asked to speak with the owner, the girl got all nervous. There was almost like a spiritual darkness. You could feel this darkness and we’re really sad to hear what’s going on.”
Cherie Moore of Jupiter said she visits the neighboring nail salon frequently. She said she once went into the spa to ask about getting a massage.
“She was just very vague and she was almost rude,” Moore said of the woman at the front desk. “She handed me a brochure, so I never went back. I’m here all the time getting my nails done next door. I had no idea. I never really paid that close attention to it. The one time I went in, it wasn’t that welcoming. I’m very surprised because I live in Jupiter and I can walk here. In our little, sleepy town it is quite a surprise.”
Victims of human sex trafficking, experts say, can be found almost anywhere, ranging from hotels and private brothels to massage parlors.
“We’ve had many victims through the years come from massage parlors,” Valmores said.
California, according to figures, is the nation’s leader in human trafficking, with Texas and Florida ranking second and third.
Wyatt said 80 percent of prostitution-related arrests in Orange County are from people outside the county. He said things such as beaches and business conventions attract that element. The Super Bowl and other major sporting events also attract that crowd.
That has always been prevalent in what is often referred to as “the world’s oldest profession.”
The victims of sex-trafficking crimes are often involved in arranged marriages, forced servitude or other such seedy enterprises. They sometimes live in the massage parlors. And even if they did escape, there’s often a language barrier, so getting help isn’t easy.
“Sometimes we’ll see them through the years and they’ll say they’re now victims of domestic violence,” Valmores said. “Or they’re coming for help because they’re suffering from the trauma. They haven’t really healed from the trauma they were under.”
Wyatt said “100 percent” of the juveniles in the industry “have been involved in the social services system in some way,” meaning foster homes, drug rehabilitation or some other form of help for problems that could include being victims of abuse or coming from broken homes.
“I will also say I feel like it’s grown through the years,” Valmores said.
Valmores said the only way out of their lifestyle for most of these women is through law-enforcement busts such as the one that swept up Kraft.
“You don’t find many that just walk out the door freely,” she said.
Kraft, known for his philanthropy as well as his business sense, has a residence in Palm Beach at The Breakers, a ritzy oceanside community located roughly 17 miles from Orchids of Asia.
Lots of the towns along that section of Florida’s southeast coast are considered upscale.
Jupiter, home to the Miami Marlins’ and St. Louis Cardinals’ spring training facilities as well as a host of PGA golfers, is usually a low-key city. In May 2017, Jupiter resident Tiger Woods was charged with DUI there after being pulled over while driving erratically. That was headline-grabbing stuff.
But this incident involving Kraft has been an eye-opener on a number of levels.
Kraft, who celebrated his team’s sixth Super Bowl title earlier this month, is a pillar of the NFL community. After the Super Bowl, there was talk of his Hall of Fame credentials. Kraft would be eligible under the “contributor” category that allowed Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to be inducted in 2017.
But for now, Kraft could be looked upon as a disgraced owner, a high-profile embarrassment to the shield.
Despite his phenomenal business success, big-dollar charitable contributions and record-breaking Super Bowl success, Kraft is currently associated with illegitimate, strip-mall massage parlors, a far cry from the powerful image he projects sitting in his comfy luxury suite at Gillette Stadium. Wyatt said no one should be surprised by the allegations against someone with Kraft’s social status.
“There’s no such thing,” he said, “as a typical john.”
JUPITER, Fla. — Twitter, predictably, wasn’t kind to Robert Kraft, the 77-year-old New England Patriots owner who was charged with soliciting prostitution Friday in Jupiter, Fla.
“I hope this story has a happy ending,” was a popular quip. It’s a reference to a term for a sex act commonly associated with the type of massage parlor Kraft, a billionaire, is accused of visiting.
Memes have popped up seemingly nonstop with a variety of tricked-up photos and smart-aleck captions. A septuagenarian owner of the Super Bowl-winning team who allegedly pays for sex? Hilarious! Time to ridicule and poke fun, right?
Wrong.
Police claim Kraft made two January visits to Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, a massage parlor they say was a front for paid sex acts. Kraft’s spokesman categorically denied the charges, but police say they have video evidence.
Likely even worse for Kraft is that police claim to have evidence that Orchids of Asia is affiliated with a human sex-trafficking ring. They suspect the ring has roots in New York and China and holds women against their will, forcing them to have sex for money.
Kraft has not been accused of or charged with having sex with anyone underage, and there are no allegations that Orchids of Asia trafficked or employed underaged women.
This is the latest example of an NFL owner allegedly breaking the law. It brings to mind recent incidents with fellow owners such as Jim Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts, who served a six-game suspension and was hit with a $500,000 fine in 2014 for driving while impaired, and former Carolina owner Jerry Richardson, who sold the team after allegations of workplace misconduct.
The allegation against Kraft also rekindles the multi-pronged issue the NFL has had recently with the treatment of women. The league has been involved in a number of high-profile situations, many of which, critics say, league commissioner Roger Goodell has not handled particularly well.
In recent years, concerns of violence against women have dogged the NFL with cases involving players such as Cleveland running back Kareem Hunt, Washington linebacker Reuben Foster, former Cowboys and Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy or, years ago, former Ravens running back Ray Rice being played out in the public eye.
Kraft’s predicament is different, but it has the potential to tarnish the shield in other equally serious ways.
In fact, it reached all the way to the top of the nation Friday when President Trump, a longtime friend of Kraft’s, was asked about the two solicitation charges.
Trump, who reportedly called Kraft frequently to check on him after his wife, Myra, died of ovarian cancer in 2011, said, “Well, it’s very sad. I was very surprised to see it. He’s proclaimed his innocence totally, but I’m very surprised to see it.”
Kraft was married to Myra for 48 years until her passing, and the couple had four sons together. Kraft has been dating 39-year-old Ricki Noel Lander for the last six years, according to People magazine.
Kraft was among about 25 other alleged “johns,” men who pay for sex acts, caught up in a six-month sting operation at a number of South Florida massage parlors, including Orchids of Asia in Jupiter, a well-to-do town located about 90 miles north of Miami and just 20 miles north of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
Two people — Hua Zhang, 58, Lei Wang, 39 — were arrested in connection with the spa.
And Kraft may not even be the highest-profile celebrity involved in the proceedings, according to ESPN.
Kraft’s spokesman said in a statement, “We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further.”
The NFL also issued a statement that said, “The NFL is aware of the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments.”
While many massage parlors operate perfectly legally, the industry as a whole has a bit of a reputation for serving as a front for prostitution. The tipoffs are usually a largely male clientele, being especially busy at lunchtime and even busier after dark. The clients are typically from all walks of life, from wealthy to young to old. The ages of the johns in the Orchids of Asia raid ranged from 29 to 84.
Police in neighboring Martin County conducted raids at four other spas earlier in the week that charged about 100 men with sex acts.
Dr. Kimberley Mehlman-Orozco is a human trafficking expert and one of the nation’s foremost voices on the subject. She wrote a book called “Hidden in Plain Sight: America’s Slaves of the New Millennium” and interviewed a number of men who frequent sex-industry establishments. She said they’re the guys many are least likely to suspect.
“Most men who do patronize those type of locations, they are of means, they are affluent, they are educated, they are often family men,” she said.
She said men want two things at such establishments — sex and anonymity.
“In my interviews with these guys they say, ‘We’re not paying for sex, we’re paying to walk away afterward,'” she said.
The sex-trafficking part of the story isn’t new to Nilda Valmores, executive director of My Sister’s House, an organization in Sacramento, Calif., that helps women who have been impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. She once came across a 60-year-old working in the sex industry.
At the opposite extreme, Sgt. Daron Wyatt of the Anaheim (Calif.) Police Department has come across girls as young as 12 and 13 years old working in the sex industry.
These aren’t prostitutes, women who willingly get involved in sex acts. These are victims, women who are forced or coerced.
“They can’t escape,” said Valmores, who runs a relatively modest three-building, 18-bed shelter. “And when they do it’s just amazing.”
Orchids of Asia Day Spa is located in an upscale strip mall anchored by an Outback Steakhouse and Publix Market. It is in the heart of Jupiter and just a five-minute walk from the beach.
By 1:30 p.m. on Friday, three TV crews, two employees of Barstool Sports and a handful of curious onlookers had gathered outside the locked spa doors. Next door on each side are a nail salon and an escape room. Neither of the owners of those establishments was willing to speak to The Athletic. Four doors down is the hair salon where Alexandra Castrillon, a resident of Jupiter, works as a stylist.
“I went in there one time to ask about getting a facial and the lady was perfectly nice about it,” Castrillon said. “They gave me a brochure and I left. I didn’t think anything like this was going on. This is not good for Jupiter.”
Carol Patton, of Tequesta, was emerging from the Thai restaurant two doors down with a friend when she noticed all the commotion. She said she had visited the spa as part of her fundraising efforts for a local shelter for young and homeless pregnant women, Hannah’s Home. Patton said one of the residents of the home was a victim of sex trafficking, so she is more alert than many people to such illicit activity.
“Almost every business here would give us something. We count on the community for support,” Patton said. “Every time we’d go there, we would both come out of there and go, ‘There’s something not right in this place.’ There were never any customers and then when I asked to speak with the owner, the girl got all nervous. There was almost like a spiritual darkness. You could feel this darkness and we’re really sad to hear what’s going on.”
Cherie Moore of Jupiter said she visits the neighboring nail salon frequently. She said she once went into the spa to ask about getting a massage.
“She was just very vague and she was almost rude,” Moore said of the woman at the front desk. “She handed me a brochure, so I never went back. I’m here all the time getting my nails done next door. I had no idea. I never really paid that close attention to it. The one time I went in, it wasn’t that welcoming. I’m very surprised because I live in Jupiter and I can walk here. In our little, sleepy town it is quite a surprise.”
Victims of human sex trafficking, experts say, can be found almost anywhere, ranging from hotels and private brothels to massage parlors.
“We’ve had many victims through the years come from massage parlors,” Valmores said.
California, according to figures, is the nation’s leader in human trafficking, with Texas and Florida ranking second and third.
Wyatt said 80 percent of prostitution-related arrests in Orange County are from people outside the county. He said things such as beaches and business conventions attract that element. The Super Bowl and other major sporting events also attract that crowd.
That has always been prevalent in what is often referred to as “the world’s oldest profession.”
The victims of sex-trafficking crimes are often involved in arranged marriages, forced servitude or other such seedy enterprises. They sometimes live in the massage parlors. And even if they did escape, there’s often a language barrier, so getting help isn’t easy.
“Sometimes we’ll see them through the years and they’ll say they’re now victims of domestic violence,” Valmores said. “Or they’re coming for help because they’re suffering from the trauma. They haven’t really healed from the trauma they were under.”
Wyatt said “100 percent” of the juveniles in the industry “have been involved in the social services system in some way,” meaning foster homes, drug rehabilitation or some other form of help for problems that could include being victims of abuse or coming from broken homes.
“I will also say I feel like it’s grown through the years,” Valmores said.
Valmores said the only way out of their lifestyle for most of these women is through law-enforcement busts such as the one that swept up Kraft.
“You don’t find many that just walk out the door freely,” she said.
Kraft, known for his philanthropy as well as his business sense, has a residence in Palm Beach at The Breakers, a ritzy oceanside community located roughly 17 miles from Orchids of Asia.
Lots of the towns along that section of Florida’s southeast coast are considered upscale.
Jupiter, home to the Miami Marlins’ and St. Louis Cardinals’ spring training facilities as well as a host of PGA golfers, is usually a low-key city. In May 2017, Jupiter resident Tiger Woods was charged with DUI there after being pulled over while driving erratically. That was headline-grabbing stuff.
But this incident involving Kraft has been an eye-opener on a number of levels.
Kraft, who celebrated his team’s sixth Super Bowl title earlier this month, is a pillar of the NFL community. After the Super Bowl, there was talk of his Hall of Fame credentials. Kraft would be eligible under the “contributor” category that allowed Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to be inducted in 2017.
But for now, Kraft could be looked upon as a disgraced owner, a high-profile embarrassment to the shield.
Despite his phenomenal business success, big-dollar charitable contributions and record-breaking Super Bowl success, Kraft is currently associated with illegitimate, strip-mall massage parlors, a far cry from the powerful image he projects sitting in his comfy luxury suite at Gillette Stadium. Wyatt said no one should be surprised by the allegations against someone with Kraft’s social status.
“There’s no such thing,” he said, “as a typical john.”