The Florida detective who led the investigation into the spa where Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly paid for sexual services used a “boxer short rule” for monitoring hidden camera footage.
Detective Andrew Sharp told a judge Wednesday the cameras installed at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter zeroed in on the male clients who completely stripped down for massages.
“If they kept their boxer shorts on, then it was more than likely no illicit activity was going to occur,” Sharp told the Palm Beach County court. “When you go into one of these places and get completely naked, it’s a sign you’re a commercial sex purchaser.”
Kraft’s lawyers have fought to keep footage of the alleged rub-and-tugs out of the public eye, and returned to court Wednesday to try to convince a judge to toss the videos from his solicitation trial.
They scored a major boost when a court in neighboring Martin County suppressed similar footage from other spas under investigation.
Sharp testified the hidden cameras never stopped rolling during the five-day surveillance — but that the view was changed if the patrons were female or more skittish about baring all.
Investigators resumed monitoring the hidden cameras toward the end of the session to check for “happy endings,” according to the detective.
Kraft’s attorneys have argued Sharp illegally obtained a warrant to install video cameras and their client’s constitutional right to privacy was violated.
But prosecutors said the warrant to record spa customers was legal, and Kraft’s visits to the salon in January were merely “bad luck and bad timing.”
The NFL owner was one of 25 men charged in February with soliciting prostitution at the massage parlor.
Closing arguments are expected Wednesday in the hearing, which has included testimony from only three witnesses as the proceedings stretch into the third day.
Another Palm Beach County judge ruled Monday in the case of spa manager Lei Wang to seal all video evidence until a jury is seated, including surveillance footage of the NFL owner.
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