Ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries arrested on sex trafficking charges
Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has been arrested on sex trafficking charges, a spokesperson for federal prosecutors has said.
Matthew Smith, Jeffries’ partner, and a third man, James Jacobson, have also been arrested on the same charges.
At a news conference in New York, Breon Peace, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said Jeffries used his “power, his wealth and his influence, to traffic men for his own sexual pleasure and that of his romantic partner, Matthew Smith”.
Mr Peace said the indictment alleged Jeffries and Smith employed Jacobson “to act as a recruiter to find men”.
Jacobson would “engage in ‘tryouts’ with men across the world where he would typically pay them to engage in sex acts with him”.
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Smith would then decide who would meet him and Jeffries and the selected men would be flown to Jeffries’ and Smith’s homes or to hotels around the world “for the purpose of attending events to engage in commercial sex”.
Mr Peace alleged all three defendants “used force, fraud and coercion to traffic those men for their own sexual gratification”.
“They caused the men to believe that attending these sex events could yield modelling opportunities with Abercrombie or otherwise benefit their careers,” Mr Peace alleged at a news conference.
“Smith and Jeffries employed a secret staff to operate these sex events. The staff ensured that the men signed non-disclosure agreements and handed over their personal items, such as their phones, before the start of the events to maintain the secrecy of these events.”
James Dennehy, assistant director of the FBI’s New York Field Office, said the indictment “highlights the abhorrent behaviour” of Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson.
He said the allegations are “not only beyond disturbing, dishonourable and disgraceful but simply put, it’s criminal”.
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It comes after several sexual misconduct allegations – including a lawsuit filed in New York last year accusing Abercrombie of allowing Jeffries to run a sex trafficking organisation during his 22-year tenure.
Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, said in an email to the Associated Press he would “respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse – not the media”.
Lawyers for Smith did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for Jacobson could not immediately be
reached for comment.
Lawyers for Jeffries and Smith have previously “vehemently denied” any wrongdoing.
Jeffries left Abercrombie & Fitch in 2014.
Abercrombie last year said it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation after a report on similar allegations was aired by the BBC.
Abercrombie & Fitch has declined to comment on Jeffries’ arrest.
Charlie Kirk has been posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump.
The USA’s highest civilian honour was received by the conservative activist’s widow, Erika, at the White House.
Mr Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on 10 September while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.
He founded Turning Point USA and toured American university campuses, debating students about current affairs.
Erika Kirk at the White House. Pic: Reuters
Erika Kirk and Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters
Addressing those attending the ceremony in the White House rose garden, the US president said they were there to “honour and remember a fearless warrior for liberty” and a “beloved leader who galvanised the next generation”.
He said Mr Kirk’s name was being entered “forever into the eternal roster of true American heroes”.
Mr Trump described Charlie Kirk as an “American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest calibre”.
He said his nation had been “robbed” of an “extraordinary champion”.
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And Mr Trump said Mr Kirk was assassinated in the “prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America”.
The ceremony coincided with what would have been Mr Kirk’s 32nd birthday.
Mr Trump described Erika Kirk, now head of Turning Point USA, as someone who had “endured unspeakable hardship with unbelievable strength”.
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Charlie Kirk. File pic: AP
A 22-year-old man, Tyler Robinson, from the city of Washington in Utah has been charged with Mr Kirk’s murder. Prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty.
At a memorial event held at a stadium in Arizona, Erika Kirk told an enormous crowd she forgave her husband’s killer.
“The answer to hate is not hate,” she said.
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