Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO pleads not guilty to sex trafficking and prostitution charges

CENTRAL ISSLIP, NEW YORK. The former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.

Michael Jeffries, 80, declined to comment after his attorney appeared on his behalf in federal court in Central Illipe, Long Island. He is out on $10 million bail and is due back in court on December 12.

“Today’s hearing was procedural, bond was set to ensure Michael’s appearance in court, and of course we entered a plea of not guilty,” his attorney Brian Bieber said in an email afterward, declining to comment on the allegations.

Prosecutors allege that over the years, Jeffries, his romantic partner and third husband, James Jacobson, 71, lured men to sex parties by promising to model for a clothing retailer once known for its preppy parties. – American aesthetics and marketing with shirtless male models.

Jacobson, who was an employee of Jeffries when prosecutors alleged the crimes, also pleaded not guilty and declined to speak to reporters afterward. He is free on $500,000 bail.

In the indictment announced earlier this week, prosecutors allege the 15 accusers were induced by “force, fraud and coercion” to participate in drug-fueled sex parties where men were sometimes ordered to wear costumes, use sex toys and endure pain that causes erection of the penis. injections.

The incidents took place between 2008 and 2015 in New York and the Hamptons, an affluent Long Island summer resort where Jeffries lives, as well as hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts, according to the records. prosecution.

The allegations echo allegations of sexual harassment described in media reports and filed in a civil suit against Jeffries, who left Abercrombie in 2014 after leading the company for more than two decades.

Jeffries first appeared Tuesday in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was arrested along with his partner, 61-year-old Matthew Smith.

But while Jeffries was released on bail, Smith was ordered detained after prosecutors raised concerns that the dual US-British national could flee the country. No arraignment date has been set for Smith.

Jacobson, who prosecutors say recruited men for sex parties, was arrested in Wisconsin and made his first appearance in federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Jeffries took over as CEO of Abercrombie in 1992, leading the company’s evolution from its roots as a hunting and outdoor goods store founded in Manhattan in 1892 to the traditional teenage mall culture of the early 2000s.

Abercrombie, in a statement posted on Instagram after the arrests, said he was “stunned and disgusted” by the allegations.

The Ohio company, which also owns the Hollister clothing brand, said it has “transformed” its brands and culture in the decade since Jeffries left.

Abercrombie stopped using “sexualized” photos in marketing materials and stopped the practice of referring to store employees as “models”. Last year, she hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into similar allegations against Jeffries.

“Speaking out and speaking out is not easy, and our thoughts remain with those who bravely raised their voices as part of the federal investigation,” the company wrote in a statement Wednesday. “We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind and are committed to fully cooperating with law enforcement during the legal process.”