The Fourth District Court of Appeals upheld motions to suppress hidden camera footage taken by law enforcement during a series of investigations into massage parlors suspected of carrying out sexual acts for cash.
The appellate court ruled that the lower courts properly concluded that the defendants in those cases – including NFL New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft – could challenge the footage as evidence and that the suppression of the recordings was warranted, according to a 23-page long ruling issued Wednesday. The lower courts also noted that officers recorded innocent women who received lawful massages, and that police failed to minimize intrusion of privacy for law-abiding spa-goers.
“The trial courts did not err in concluding that total suppression was the appropriate remedy under the circumstances of this case,” the court said in the document.
State prosecutors can respond by requesting a rehearing, appealing to the Florida Supreme Court, try to prosecute without the videos or drop the charges.
The wide-sweeping massage parlor probes in 2019 netted several dozen arrests across Florida, including more than 160 in Indian River County. Law enforcement officials in Indian River County launched a six-month undercover investigation after receiving complaints of prostitution at three spas, including East Sea Spa, Sebastian; East Spa, Vero Beach and AA Massage, Sebastian.
“The type of law enforcement surveillance utilized in these cases is extreme,” court officials said. “While there will be situations which may warrant the use of techniques at issue, the strict Fourth Amendment safeguards developed over the past few decades must be observed. If they are not, any evidence obtained could very well be declared inadmissible as a matter of constitutional law.”
Law enforcement officials also arrested a group of people who they said operated the spas and the prostitution ring. Authorities said they believe the parlors profited between $1 million to $1.5 million each year.
Hidden surveillance footage, installed in the massage parlor rooms and lobbies, captured the men engaging in sexual acts with workers. The targeted spas have all been shut down, officials said.
Kraft, one of a number of men arrested in the statewide stings, pled not guilty in 2019 to prostitution charges filed in Jupiter. His attorneys led the argument to keep the videos unreleased.
The courts agreed and questioned law enforcement methods.
“We cannot conclude here that the law enforcement agencies acted in good faith with respect to minimization due to the lack of Florida law on point,” the court said in its findings. “Neither the Florida law statutes, nor case law authorize covert audio surveillance to investigate prostitution-related offenses. It follows that the more intrusive video surveillance is also prohibited, providing yet another basis for affirmance.”
