Pittsburgh man charged in same prostitution sting as Patriots owner Robert Kraft

A Pittsburgh man is among those charged in a South Florida prostitution sting that has also snagged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, court records show.

Mark Curan Bope, 64, of Duquesne Heights, visited the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla., on Jan. 18, according to the police report filed in the incident.

The charges arose from a six-month investigation across parts of Florida that saw police install undercover cameras in numerous massage parlors. The investigation was part of a crackdown on sex trafficking in and around Palm Beach County.

Cameras captured Bope walking in to the day spa on U.S. Highway 1 and exchanging money with a woman at the front desk, according to the police report. He was recorded engaging in several sex acts with the masseuse, police said.

About 30 minutes after he entered the massage room, cameras show Bope leaving $150 for the woman, and they both leave the room, according to the report.

Police conducting surveillance noted Bope driving his black 2015 Porsche to the nearby Wyndham Grand Hotel, according to the report.

Bope could not be reached for comment.

Bope faces one misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution. The charge is punishable by up to one year in jail, a $5,000 fine, 100 hours of community service and attendance of an education program on the negative effects of prostitution and sex trafficking, according to State Attorney for Palm Beach County Dave Aronberg.

Aronberg’s office released the police reports against the 25 facing charges in the prostitution ring on Monday and discussed the charges at an afternoon press conference.

“These cases aren’t about any one defendant or any group of defendants,” Aronberg said in a statement. “The larger picture, which we must all confront, is the cold reality that many prostitutes in cases like this are victims, often lured into this country with promises of a better life, only to be forced to live and work in a sweatshop or a brothel, subject to force, fraud or coercion.”

Kraft, 77, made headlines when his name appeared among those charged. He faces a misdemeanor count of soliciting prostitution, and he has denied the allegations that he was twice caught on camera paying for sex acts at the Orchids of Asia spa.