Lawyers for the woman who is alleged to have sexually serviced New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft are arguing in court that videos said to show the acts in question should not be released.
By: Dana McMahon
Lei Wang, 45, is one of a quartet of women who were placed under arrest in connection with the Jupiter, Florida Orchids of Asia Day Spa probe.
“Investigators were led to Orchids of Asia in Jupiter, where covert surveillance cameras were installed after investigators got a “sneak-and-peek” warrant and used a bomb threat to install them – legal under the Patriot Act,” USA Today reported. “Wang’s attorneys in court filings argued for a protective order on the videos, alleging they were improperly obtained and shouldn’t be disclosed. They argue a release would violate Wang’s right to privacy and would make it difficult for her to get a fair trial. They also argue the videos are “medical records” and thus confidential and not allowed for release in a records request.”
Court records are said to read, “Here, the police created and seized medical records of therapeutic massage sessions without any notice to the affected parties.”
The videos, compiled over five days in January – taken by hidden cameras put in place by Jupiter police offers — have been the focus of the emotional court battles. There has also been an alleged leak.
“I’m not messing around with this,” Marx said, choosing to piggyback on a “protective order” last week from County Judge Leonard Hanser in Kraft’s misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution cases,” according to the South Florida SunSentinel. “The court rulings mean that the videos must remain sealed, for now, to protect fair trial rights for Kraft, Zhang and Wang. Under the orders, the videos could become available once juries are sworn in, or if other events happen, such as the charges being dropped or the cases ending in plea agreements.”
Last week, CNN reported, Judge Leonard Hanser “cited Kraft’s fair trial rights when he ordered that the footage could only be released under the following circumstances: when a jury is sworn in for trial; when the case is resolved via plea agreement or the state decides that it no longer wants to pursue the charges.”
In February, Kraft was charged with two accounts of soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida as part of a larger investigation into possible human trafficking within Florida massage parlors, according to The Sagamore. “(No evidence of trafficking has been found at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa at this time.)”
