Ex-Abercrombie CEO pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges

Ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.

Lawyers made the argument on Mr. Jeffries’ behalf in New York federal court on Long Island, as he sat next to them in court in a navy blue suit, his face expressionless.

Just one row behind Mr. Jeffries sat his alleged middleman, James Jacobson, who also pleaded not guilty at a hearing immediately after the ex-CEO.

Jeffries’ British-American partner Matthew Smith, who faces the same charges, is expected to appear in court in New York at a later date.

Federal prosecutors have said the men used force, fraud and coercion to engage in “violent and exploitative” sex acts.

The FBI launched an investigation into the former CEO of A&F last year after a BBC report research found several men who accused Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Smith of sexually assaulting them at events they hosted at their New York homes and hotels around the world.

During a 10-minute hearing on Friday in Long Island, New York Judge Steven Tiscione told Mr. Jeffries that he would be under house arrest, adding that he could only leave his homes in New York and Florida for medical appointments, visits with his lawyers and religious events.

Mr Jeffries posted a $10 million (£7.7 million) bond using his home on Fisher Island in New York as collateral.

The hearing was attended by both Mr Jeffries’ son and wife, who had to agree to use their home for the deposit as she also owns the property.

The judge asked his wife Susan if she understood that their home could be foreclosed upon if Mr Jeffries did not appear in court.

She told the judge she understood.

One of Jeffries’ alleged victims, David Bradberry, who previously told the BBC about the alleged abuse, sat in the front row of the courtroom as the charges against the former CEO were read out.

Mr. Jeffries did not respond to reporters’ questions Friday afternoon as he walked out of the courtroom and into a black SUV.

The BBC investigation revealed a sophisticated operation involving an intermediary, Mr Jacobson, and a network of recruiters tasked with finding men for these events.

Prosecutors unsealed charges against the three men shortly after Jeffries and his partner were arrested Tuesday in West Palm Beach, Florida. Mr. Jacobson was arrested in Wisconsin.

Mr Jeffries and Mr Jacobson were released on bail. Mr. Smith was arrested.

Prosecutors say that between 2008 and 2015, Jeffries and his partner preyed on “dozens” of vulnerable young men seeking careers in fashion and modeling, exploiting them for their own sexual pleasure.

The indictment lists 15 victims, who are not named.

The three men face up to life in prison if convicted of sex trafficking and up to 20 years in prison if convicted of interstate prostitution.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, alleged Tuesday that Jeffries had spent a “substantial amount of money” on human trafficking to perform sex acts on him and his partner while staff and security monitored the events.

Mr. Peace said the couple hired Mr. Jacobson to recruit men for the couple and fly them to his home in New York and other locations where they were pressured to consume or take alcohol, Viagra and muscle relaxants against their wants to inject.

In its initial investigation, the BBC spoke to 12 men who described attending or organizing events involving sex acts with 80-year-old Jeffries and his British partner Mr Smith, 61.

The eight men who attended the events said they were recruited by an intermediary identified by the BBC as James Jacobson.

More men came forward last month. Some claimed that Jeffries’ assistants injected them in the penis with what they were told was liquid Viagra.

After the BBC’s initial investigation was published last year, A&F announced it would open an independent investigation into the allegations.

Mr Jeffries was chief executive of the company from 1992 to 2014, when he resigned after falling sales and left with a pension package worth around $25 million (£20.5 million).

He is scheduled to appear in court on December 12.