A Florida judge all but ensured that surveillance videos will not be released any time soon in the criminal cases involving Robert Kraft or the owners of the day spa where he allegedly received sex acts.
Kraft is one of dozens of spa patrons accused of receiving illicit massages at the Orchids of Asia spa in Jupiter.
He and other defendants have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges based on what authorities describe as evidence collected from the recordings and other surveillance methods.
The recordings have become a key point of contention in the case, with both defendants and spa patrons who were not charged with crimes trying to prevent their release.
Kraft's lawyers have maintained that releasing the video would violate his constitutional rights and hamper his chance for a fair trial .
In a hearing Monday for the spa's owner and manager, Palm Beach County Judge Joseph Marx said he would "piggyback" on a judge's order in Kraft's case temporarily sealing the video.
Last week, 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.
CNN and other media outlets have filed motions in the case seeking the tapes' release.
"Why shouldn't I go right down the road Hanser went?" Marx said in the two-hour hearing.
Earlier this month, attorneys for the two women accused law enforcement of leaking the video , based on a report published on a celebrity news website that claimed it was "recently contacted by a party who claimed to have obtained portions" of the video.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
