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 entered the plea on behalf of Mr Jeffries in New York federal court on Long Island as he sat alongside them in court in a navy blue suit, his face expressionless.

Sitting just one row behind Mr Jeffries was his alleged middleman, James Jacobson, who was set to be arraigned after the ex-Abercrombie CEO.

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

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

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

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

Mr Jeffries posted a $10m (£7.7m) bond using his house 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 house for the bond, as she owns the property as well.

The judge asked his wife, Susan, if she understood that their house could be foreclosed if Mr Jeffries failed to show up to court.

She told the judge she understood.

One of Mr 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.

The BBC’s investigation found a sophisticated operation involving a middleman, Mr Jacobson, and a network of recruiters tasked with finding men for these events.

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

Mr Jeffries and Mr Jacobson had been released on bond. Mr Smith was detained.

Prosecutors say Mr Jeffries and his partner preyed upon “dozens” of vulnerable young men seeking careers in fashion and modelling, and exploited them for their own sexual pleasure between 2008 and 2015.

The indictment lists 15 victims who are not named.

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

US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, alleged on Tuesday that Mr Jeffries spent a “prolific amount of money” to traffic men to engage in sex acts with him and his partner, while staff and security guarded the events.

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

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

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

Then, more men came forward last month. Some alleged Mr Jeffries’ assistants had 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 was opening an independent investigation into the allegations.

Mr Jeffries served as the CEO of the company from 1992 until 2014, when he stepped down following declining sales and left with a retirement package valued at around $25m (£20.5m).

He is next set to appear in court on 12 December.