This was a wide-ranging human trafficking investigaton that had been going on for six months, involving several levels of law enforcement. This wasn’t some simple raid about prostitution. Over 200 people have been charged.
Kraft’s larger problem may be with the NFL.
Several Wall St titans also have been named as frequenting this place, so apparently it catered to an extremely wealthy and mostly elderly clientele. Perhaps the stated prices were not accurate.
There is an enormous problem with sex trafficking women worldwide. Women are brought here, expecting a real job, and are trapped. They don’t speak the language, they are often given drugs to keep them complacent, and they know that if they go to the police they will quickly be deported.
It’s a horrible situation for them and I wouldn’t treat it lightly.
R Kelly was indicted today, a federal judge ruled that Acosta violated victims rights by giving a lenient plea deal to Jeffrey Epstein, the two women who accused Justin Fairfax have been invited to speak to the VA state legislature, and Robert Kraft was busted.
All in all, a really bad day to be a sexual predator.
If LE was so worried about these women being trafficked, why did they allow it to go on for 6 months while doing their investigation?
The situation of the women (who have not been charged) was beyond atrocious. They were here on temporary work visas, didn’t speak a word of English, didn’t have any transportation, and lived at the “spas” in squalid conditions. They serviced an average of eight clients a day, every single day. I’m willing to bet they overstayed their visas too.
IMO, the johns should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, because the horrible conditions the women endured was enabled by the johns’ demand for cheap sex workers.
No allegation that Kraft is or has ever been a predator. He is charged with soliciting another adult for consensual sex in exchange for cash. A minor crime in most (not all) states, unrelated to predators.
“If LE was so worried about these women being trafficked, why did they allow it to go on for 6 months while doing their investigation?”
This will always be a problem in a big, far-ranging investigation, and there’s no obvious answer. Do you arrest sooner, and let the big fish get away, or wait months, knowing that as you get more evidence against more and worse perpetrators, more crimes are being committed? I can’t criticize the investigators for building their case.
“Consensual”? Not precisely consensual, I’d say.
From NYT:
“For five days, starting on Jan. 18, the police monitored the video, and they said they had observed more than 20 men receiving manual or oral stimulation during massage sessions. In none of the instances, the police said, did they observe sexual intercourse.”
I honestly don’t care what consenting adults do. Unfortunately, it sounds like the women in this case may not have really been consenting.
I don’t particularly like prostitution or those who participate, and the customers may very well be real jerks, but there is no evidence that they would know the women were not consenting. Nor did I think they complained about the bill to drive down wages. Some adults do consent to this acts, and I expect these women at least acted as if they consented to their customers. No suggestion that force was used or the customers pressured them into it.
I don’t feel bad for this guy. All that money and you have to resort to this to get your thrills? At a strip mall massage parlor?
Tape shows he visited twice. Some reports are saying he isn’t the most prominent name charged.
You pull up in a limo with your security and driver opening your door. You slip in to the China Orchid, three weeks after 100 million people watched you for 3 hours — for the ninth time and no one will notice?
For Pete’s sake. People dress up like you for Haloween in New England with your signature white collared, blue shirt.
Good lord. I feel bad for the women basically enslaved by their captors. Those people should pay a serious penalty.
But talk about issues of “decision making” for a seemingly responsible person. How about representing your brand and family.
It doesn’t surprise me. But it always surprises me. If you know what I mean.
Entitled. Feels untouchable.
If you ate at a restaurant where the workers are undocumented, should you be prosecuted when you pay your bill and leave a tip? Do you have a duty to ask if the workers are being paid a fair wage, if they are paying their taxes. if they have a nice place to live?
This was a business, with a license and a store front. I’m sure they knew they were getting more than was on the menu, but should they suspect (and have a duty to ask) if the workers were underage or working against their will? This business had a lot of locations and if this was happening daily, why did it take 6 months to gather evidence? If it was such common knowledge, why such a long time? Why did they need 200 clients to prove the case? Do you ask at every business you enter if anything illegal is going on, if the bartenders are dealing drugs? The masseuse at the gym? Do you not rely on the state to supervise its business licensees?
What gets me is that these women/girls were left to suffer at the hands of these creepy pay for sex pervs for what 6 months while the authorities were building their case. What about the concept of putting the well being of victims as a top priority???
The issue is these women were evidently held in conditions similar to slavery. They were brought their by the business owners, they had no transportation, and they couldn’t speak English. If those were the conditions of workers in restaurants, then I wouldn’t go to restaurants.
If they are receiving sexual services, YES, they should ask if the workers were underage, just as one should ask if anyone they are having sexual relations with are under age.