Category - Style
Officials Reveal Grim Details of Ex-Abercrombie CEO Sex Trafficking Case
Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was arrested on Tuesday along with two associates on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges. Jeffries served as head of the popular clothing retailer from 1992 to 2014, and was largely credited with revitalizing the brand during his tenure, albeit while courting controversy with gratuitous advertising featuring semi-nude models.
Jeffries and his longtime romantic partner Matthew Smith, both of West Palm Beach, FL, as well as James Jacobson of Wisconsin are accused of operating an "international sex trafficking and prostitution business" from 2008 to 2015, in which they allegedly lured in young models for international "sex events." But while promising modeling opportunities, they instead "employed coercive, fraudulent, and deceptive tactics" to get the men to engage in commercial sex.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said that Jeffries and Smith spent millions on the sex trafficking enterprise. Their expenses included paying for travel to various locations including England, France, Italy, Morocco, St. Barts, and New York.
The trio also allegedly recruited an entire staff to "facilitate and supervise" the sex events, whose job duties were, among other things, to provide attendees with alcohol, poppers, lubricant, Viagra, and condoms, a federal indictment states. The men were also pressured to drink alcohol and use poppers during the events.
Peace said the victims were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements during the events, as well as surrender their wallets and cell phones. If they refused to participate in certain acts, they were told that it could hurt their careers.
Perhaps most disturbingly, Peace said that "on more than one occasion when men did not or could not consent, Jeffries and Smith violated the bodily integrity of these men by subjecting them or continuing to subject them to invasive sexual and violent contact by body parts and other objects."
The victims were also said to have been recruited by a referral system and had to undergo an interview process, but were not informed about what went on at the events. However, Jacobson would allegedly use this as a "tryout" period in which he had potential candidates perform commercial sex acts with him.
All three men each face a single count of sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution involving 15 alleged victims, and are expected to appear in federal court in Florida and Wisconsin on Tuesday. They will reportedly be subsequently arraigned in the eastern District of New York.
Prosecutors are asking for a $10 million bond for Jeffries and a $500,000 bond for Jacobson. They have requested that Smith be detained pending trial since he's a citizen of the United Kingdom and poses "the most substantial" flight risk.
"Powerful individuals, for too long, have trafficked and abused for their own sexual pleasure young people with few resources in a dream, a dream of securing a successful career in fashion or entertainment," Peace said during the press conference. "To anyone that thinks they can exploit or coerce others by using the so-called casting couch system, this case should serve as a warning—prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison."